warning AUDI A3 CABRIOLET 2015 Owners Manual

Airbag system 147
Since the circumstances will vary considerab ly
also at greater risk of injury or death
between on e collision and another , it is not
through contact with an inflating airbag .
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
sitting sideways or out of position in any
of impact that will always trigger the a irbags .
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
Important factors include, for example, the -You will a lso receive serious injuries and
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the could even be killed if you are up against
•
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
• the airbag or too close to it when it in-
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
flates - even with an Advanced A irbag.
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air-
Alwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only bag inflates, always wear safety belts
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions. properly
c::;, page 141, Safety belts
.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro- -
Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
tection in those s ituations in which airbags or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have children a
re not properly restrained , they
already deployed ; for example , when your ve- may be severe
ly inju red or killed when an
hide strikes or is struck by another vehicle af- airbag inf
lates.
ter the first collision . -
Never let ch ildren ride un restra ined o r
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is improperly restrained
in the vehicle . Ad-
just the front sea ts prope rly.
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti -
-Never ride with the back rest reclined .
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
-Always sit as far as possible from the
works most effect ively when used with the
steering whee l or the instrument panel
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
c::;, page 127 . your safety belts c::;, page 138 .
- Always sit upright with your back against
A WARNING the backrest of yo ur seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
panel or on the seat . Always keep both
instrument panel will dec rease the effec-
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision.
and hips if the airbag in fla te s.
- Never si t closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
-Never recline the front passenger's sea t
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan-
to transport objects. Items can a lso
el. move into the area of the s ide a irb ag or
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
the front airbag during bra king or in a
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi-
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air-
ga te whethe r adap tive equipmen t may
bags can become projectiles and cause
be available to help you reach the pedals injury when an airbag inflates.
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
A WARNING
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil -
dren m ust be restrained properly when- A
irbags that have deployed in a crash must
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestra ined be replaced.
or improperly restrained child could be -
Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap-
M injured by striking the inter ior or by be- proved by Audi and installed by a trained • N technician who has the necessary too
ls ~ ,.... ing ejected from the vehicle during a > co sudden maneuver or impact . An unre-...... \!) ..,., strained or imp roperly rest rained child is ...... ..,., ......

148 Airbag sys tem
and dia gnostic equipment to properly re­
place any a irbag in your vehicle and
assure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled a ir­
bags to be installed in your veh icle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
~ Be sure to read the impo rtant informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for impo rtant de­
ta ils about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
Qpage 169.
Even though you r vehicle is equ ipped with an
Advanced Airbag Sys tem, ma ke certain that
all c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back sea t properly
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 can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
ments of United States Federa l Motor Ve hicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup ­
p ressed") if a c hild up to about one year of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing o r fo r­
ward -facing infan t restra ints listed in Federal
M otor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 171.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the e lectronic control unit. E
ach time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will come on for a
f ew seconds and :
- w ill stay on if the fro nt passenge r seat is not
occupied,
- w ill stay on i f the e lec tric al ca pacit ance
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de ­
tection system for the front passenger seat equa ls the combined capacitance of an in ­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with wh ich the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
c e rt ified . Fo r a listing of t he chi ld restraints
t ha t were used to certify you r vehi cle's com­
p lian ce w it h t he U.S. Safety Stand ard
Q page 171.
-w ill stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restr aint on the front passenge r seat,
- will go off if t he front pa ssenge r seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as regis tered by the ca ­
pacitive passenge r de tection sys tem
c::> page 158, Monitoring the Advanced Air·
bag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when e lec trica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less tha n
t h e comb ined capacitance of a typica l 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Fede r­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year -o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adu lt , the front airbag on
t h e passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by t he e lec­
t ro nic cont ro l unit a nd can deploy if the con­
t ro l u nit se nses an impact tha t mee ts the con-
di tions s tored in its memory .
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Fo r exa mple, the airbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
page 171), or
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criter ia to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control unit
r::> page 159, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant carri­
er insta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in­
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli­
sion. The airbag could greatly reduce the ef­
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se­
riously injure the child during inflat ion.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly
restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
r::> page 169, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating airbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and wi ll
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
-
A irbag system 149
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately install the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the a irbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke s ure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru ­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ig nit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the ri sk of ser ious injury, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light wi ll be displayed whenever a child re ­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
¢ page 158, Monitoring the Ad-
vanced Airbag System.
~
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150 Airbag system
-Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PA SS EN ­
GE R AI R BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immed iately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
sta lling child restraints .
A WARNING ,.
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-fac ing child
restraint on the front passenge r's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
t ion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de ­
ploys and serio usly injure or even kill the
child -even wi th an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or car rier .
- Always m ake su re that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on the
seat. The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on w hen it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig . 14 0 Loc atio n of drive r air b a g : i n stee ring wheel
Fig. 141 Loc ation of fro nt passe nge r's a irbag: in the in ­
str umen t pa nel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System " in compliance with Un ited
States Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
ten sioners are also act ivated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
T he front safety belts also have load lim iters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
whee l hub
c:> fig. 140 and the airbag fo r the
front pas senger is in the instr ument panel
¢ fig . 141. The gener al location of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you need to know about the a ir­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
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detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are ex tremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
Airbag system 151
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG " on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air ­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
-=
A person on the front passenger seat , es-
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3-and 6-year-old children under the
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of a typical 1 year-old, but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on
the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on).
For example, the a irbag may depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
page 171),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low ris k" deployment criteria to help re ­
d uce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it
r:::> page 158.
Alway s remember : Even though your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat. Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
page 146 .
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 153
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been installed on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable s ituations that
may happen dur ing the usef ul life of your
veh icle.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with g reat force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i·
ately insta ll the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and cer tified by
its manufacture r for use on a front se at
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
straint up against or ve ry near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing chi ld restraint. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position .
...
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154 Airbag sys te m
- Always make su re that t here is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occ upied by someone who is heavier
than the person actu ally s itting on the
sea t. The presence of additiona l obje cts
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes o n and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l o t of very important pa rts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts incl ude the
capacitive passenger detect ion sys tem, wir­
ing, brac kets, and more . The cont ro l unit
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on w hen a
malfunction i n the one of the system compo­
n ents is detected
c::;, page 159 . Because the
front passenge r seat contains important pa rts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to pr even t it from be ing damaged.
Damage to the seat may preven t the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front o f the veh icle that
measure ve hicle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System abo ut the severity of the crash .
- An electronic co ntro l unit, with i ntegrated
c rash sensors for f ront and side impacts.
The cont ro l unit "decides" whether to fire t
he front a irbags based on the in format ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
un it also "decides" whether the sa fety belt
pretens ioners sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator fo r
the dr iver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas gene rator in­
side the inst rument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un­
derneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measures the electrical capac i­
tance of the person in the seat. The informa­
tion registered is se nt cont inuous ly to the
elect ronic control un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the
passe nger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and indicator
light in t he i nstr ument cluster
¢ page 158.
-A senso r in each front seat registers the dis­
tanc e between the r espective seat and the
s teer ing whee l o r ins trumen t panel. The in­
form ation regis tered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he ele ct ron ic cont ro l unit to regula te de­
p loyment of the front Adv a need Ai rbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and stays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
c::;, page 214 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor in t he safety be lt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this information to t he
electronic control un it .
A WARNING
--
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can
p rev ent the fro nt airbag from wor king
prop erly.
- I mp rope r re pa ir or disassembly of the
fr ont passenge r and dr ive r sea t will pre­
ven t th e Adv anced Air bag System from
functioning p ro perly.
- Repairs to the front pa ssenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualifie d and properly
trained workshop personnel.
~

Airbag system 155
-Never remove the front passenger or games device, power inverter or seat
driver seat from the vehicle. heater for child seats) on the front pas-
- Never remove the upholstery from the senger seat if the device is connected to
front passenger seat. the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light-
- Never disassemble or remove parts from er socket. Such devices can influence the
the seat or disconnect wires from it. capacitance registered by the capacitive
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets passenger detection system, so that in-
•
correct information is provided to the
air-• or put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front bag control unit.
passenger seat will not function properly -
If you must use a child restraint on the
if it is punctured . front passenger seat
and the child re-
- Never carry things on your lap or carry straint manufacturer's instructions
re-
objects on the front passenger seat. quire the use of a towel,
foam cushion or
Such objects can influence the capaci- something else to properly position the
tance registered by the capacitive pas- child restraint, make certain that the
senger detection system, so that incor-
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
rect information is provided to the airbag on and stays on whenever the child re-
control unit. straint is installed on the front passen-
- Never store items under the front pas- ger seat.
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air--
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
bag System under the passenger seat does not come on and stay on, immedi-
could be damaged, preventing them and ately
install child restraint in a rear seat-
the airbag system from working proper- ing position and have
the airbag system
Ly. inspected by your Audi dealer.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
.&_ WARNING upholstery that have not been specifical-
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
immediately.
Airbag System from recognizing child re- - If liquid soaks into the front passenger
straints or occupants on the front pas-
seat, this can keep the airbag system
senger seat and prevent the side airbag from working properly and may, for in-
in the seat backrest from deploying prop- stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
erly .
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay
otherwise added to the front passenger on together with the airbag indicator
seat, never install any child restraint sys- light
fl in the instrument cluster.
tern on this seat. -If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
not soaked in, this may also keep the air-
similar items on the front passenger bag system from working properly and
seat. The additional layers prevent the cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
capacitive passenger detection system
enabled (turned on), even though there
from accurately measuring the capaci-
is a properly installed child restraint sys-
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
tern on the seat. Wet towels or other wet
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad- things on the seat cushion can have the
M vanced Airbag System from working
same effect. If the front passenger fron-• N
" > co properly. tal airbag is turned on, the PASSENGER
,...., -Never place or use any electrical device AIR BAG OFF light will go out . \!) ..,.,
,...., (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic ..,., ,....,

156 Airbag system
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restra ints* to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information abo ut safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this c hapter .
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the dece lerat ion meas ured
by the c rash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Crash sever ity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
i n the c rash.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger front al airbag
will be turned off i f the e lectrical capacitance
measured by the capac itive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­ ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air­
bag will a lso be turned off if the capacitance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of abo ut on e
yea r of age i n one of the child sea ts that was
used to cer tify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ger s ide has been turned off¢
page 159.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- flates
-even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 146.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 142 Inflated fro nt a irbags
-...
q :r:
iZ
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold proper ly and pro­
vide supplemental protect ion in a frontal col­
lis ion .
The front airbags are des igned to provide ad­
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn proper ly,
- the seats have been posi tioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and for ad justab le head restraints: the head
restraints have been properly ad justed .
B ec au se airb ags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you h ave on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin .
It is important to remembe r that while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
IIJI,

M N ,....
> co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
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
dece leration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
F ront airbag s will no t deplo y:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the a irbag system is less than the m inimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
The f ront pas seng er airbag al so will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the electrical capac itance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect io n system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be switched off by the electronic control unit
(the
P AS SENGER A IR BA G OFF light
c:> page 159 and how they work comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright posit ion,
must not lean against or place any part
of the ir body too close to the area where
the a irbags are located.
- Occupants who a re unbelted, out of posi­
t ion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c:> page 148 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
-
A irbag system 157
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild 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 rear-fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seat ing position and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
A WARNING
r---------
O b j e cts between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering 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 air­ bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inflate.
- Never p lace or attach accesso ries o r oth­
er objects (such as cup holders, te le­
phone b rac kets, large, heavy or bulky ob ­
jects) on the doors, over o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­ pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag during braking or in a
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