seats AUDI A3 CABRIOLET 2016 Owner's Manual

Safe ty belts
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r::;, page 13 7.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
t hat expec tan t mothers always wear safety bel ts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig . 135 Safety belt pos ition dur ing preg nan cy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body
,:::;, page 139.
• Adjust the front sea t and adjustable head re ­
straint * correctly
r::;, page 53, Front seats.
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even ly
across the chest and pe lvis
r::;, fig. 135, r::;, A .
• Insert the tongue into the correct b uckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
r::;, page 138, fig . 133.
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious persona l inju ry in an accident.
- Expectan t mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safe ty belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the ro und­
ing of the abdomen.
- Always rea d and heed a ll WARN INGS and
othe r important information
r::;, .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 139 .
140
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle hos stopped .
.,,
Fig. 136 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
• Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r::;, fig. 136. The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buck le
r::;, A .
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing inj ured or killed .
Improperly worn safety belts
0 ,-. N 0 :i: .. m
Incorrectly positioned safety belts con cause se­
vere injuries.
Wear ing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or deat h. Safety belts can only work
whe n they are correct ly posit ioned on the body .
Imprope r seating positions red uce the effective­
ness of safety belts and w ill even increase the
risk of inj ury and death by moving the safety belt
to c rit ic al areas of the body . Imprope r seating
pos itions also increase the ris k of serious injury
and death when an airbag dep loys and strikes a n
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especially for chi ldren .
Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ A -

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A WARNING ,~
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay in a correct
seating pos it ion whenever the veh icle is be­
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
~ page 13 7 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular s everity and in a rollov er, saf ety belts
are tensioned automatically.
Re ve rsib le safe ty belt ten sione rs
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversib le tensioners. The fo llowing
f u nctions are avai lab le when the driver 's/front
passenger's safety be lts are fastened:
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the
passenge r after a ce rtain t ime per iod or vehicle
speed.
- In certain driving situat io ns, the safety belts
may t ighten with a reversible tens ioning func­
tion
~ page 97.
- The safety belts may a lso tighten with this re-
versib le tensioning function in minor collisions.
P y rotechnic safet y be lt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
p retensioners. The system is act ivated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end coll is ions of great se­
veri ty and in a rollover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack
q & in Service and disposal of
saf ety belt pr etensioner on page 141 .
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur ing a coll is ion.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly .
Safet y be lts
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced .
(D Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners can
only dep loy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end coll i­
sions.
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is nor­
ma l and is not caused by a f ire in the veh i­
cle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped . A qualified
dealership is familiar with these regulat ions
and w ill be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmenta l
and other regulat ions if the vehicle or indi­
vidua l parts of the system, particular ly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have yo ur authorized Aud i
dealer perform this service fo r you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Installing , removing ,
se rvicing or repair ing of be lt pretens ione rs can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking co rrectly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will no t be impa ired and that d iscarded
componen ts do not cause inju ry or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING ~ -
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
141

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 135.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
c ould even be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
144
-
- To reduce the ris k of i njury when an a irbag
inflates, always wea r safety belts properly
c::> page 138, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::>page 125.
-Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Obje cts nea r the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils .,.

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about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 165.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways ride in the back seat 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 very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a child in a rea rward-fac ing seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS)
208 as applica­
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
T he
PASSENGER 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 yo u 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 capac itive 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 ­
era l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
208 w it h
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cl e was certified . Fo r a listing of the child re­
strain ts th at were used to ce rtify you r vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 167 .
Airbag sys tem
-wi ll stay on if there is a small child or c hild re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go
off if the front passenge r seat is occu ­
pied by an adult as registered by the capac itive
passenger detection system ¢
page 155, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less t han 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 e lec trica l capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER 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 turned off by the electron ic con trol
u ni t and can dep loy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions s tored in its
memory .
For example , th e airbag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats lis ted
¢ page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
inst rument cluste r and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in­
jury through interact ion w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk " dep loymen t occurs in those crashes that
t ak e place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic co ntrol unit¢
page 155 , PASSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Ill>
145

Airbag syste m
Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously injure the child
during inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children -when properly restrain­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
¢ page 165, 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 killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld 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 chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASS EN­
G ER AIR BA G 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
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenger's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and certified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
146
-
-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- 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 posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8, WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is in­
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 155, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System .
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints .
.8, WARNING
If, i n exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provi ding any pro tect ion .

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-An improper ly installed ch ild restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer 's
instructions provided w ith the child seat or
carrier .
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l tha t it is occ upied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi ­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
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 .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 137 Location of driver ai rbag: in steer ing wheel
Airb ag sys tem
Fig. 138 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
st rument pane l
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your veh icle was manufactured. The
safe ty belts fo r the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the bel t system.
T he pretensioners are also activated by the e lec ­
tronic control unit for the airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to
help reduce the fo rces applied to the body in a
c rash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
r:::> fig. 137 a nd the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument pane l
~fig. 138. The
general lo cation of the airbags is marked "A IR­
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags i n your vehicle. We urge you to read the deta iled
information about airbags, safety be lts and c hild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
u p the owner's literatu re . Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protect ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety be lts .
147

Airbag system
-Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle 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 po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in ­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- 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 in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag 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 de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle is in use .
- 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 wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument 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 music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
148
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver . Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing 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 un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the .,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S . Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ..,.

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(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide additional pro te ction
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re ­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
stra ined, not jus t because the law requ ires yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" requi re­
men ts for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are inten d­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 167, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Ai rbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listi ng of the ch ild
restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cl e's compl iance wi th the US Safe ty St andard
c::> page 167,
Airb ag sys tem
-When a pe rson is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat that has an elect rical capacitance that
is more than the total e lectr ica l capacitance of
a child that is about
1 year o ld restrained in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in you r vehicle was cert ified), t he front
ai rbag on the passenger side may or may no t
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic control unit detects a tota l
elect rical capacitance on the front passe nger sea t
t h at re quires the front airbag to be turned off. If
t h e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the contro l unit 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 on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year -old, b ut less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on) .
For e xample , the airbag may deploy if :
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
c::> page 167),
-a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenge r a ir bag deploys, the Feder ­
al S tanda rd requi res t he ai rbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp red uce the r isk
of i njury 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 155.
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back ..,.
149

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switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 155. 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 .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
c::> page 155 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel
c::> page 188 and tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
Airbag system
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING ,.__
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly .
151

Airbag syste m
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
th us keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such devices can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capac itive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild rest raint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restraint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work­
ing properly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t will come on and stay on togethe r with
the airbag indicator light
II (USA models) I
152
E,I (Canada mode ls) in the instr ument clus­
ter.
- If liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly and cause the
passenger frontal airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a p roperly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front p assenger front al airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will go
out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front th ree-point safety belts with pretens ioners
and load lim ite rs and the adj ustab le head re­
straints* to help reduce the risk of i njury in a
wide range of accident and cras h situations. Be
s ur e to read the impo rtant informat ion about
sa fety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activa tion of the safety belt pretens ioners de­
pend on the dece lera tion measured by the crash
senso rs and registered by the electronic contro l
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, regard less o f safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectrica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he e lectronic contro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be tur ned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
t h e front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about o ne yea r of age in one o f the ch ild sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off
c::;,page 155. ..,.