belt AUDI A3 SEDAN 2017 Owner's Guide

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Al wa 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
r=;, page 258.
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.
2 6 8
-
- To reduce the ris k of i njury when an a irbag
inflates, always wea r safety belts properly
r=;, page 262, 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
r=;, page 248.
- 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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-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 safety
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. 2 41 Location of driver airbag: in ste.e ring wheel
Airb ag sys tem
Fig. 242 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
¢ fig. 241 a nd the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument pane l
~fig. 242. 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 .
271

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 .
272
-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
facing child safety 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 ap plic able 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 r isk" 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 295, 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 295,
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 safety seats listed
c::> page 295),
- 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 279.
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
..,.
273

Airbag syste m
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­ ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 267 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed i f the front
airbag inflates
-even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
-Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest , door,
o r roof .
- Always install rearward -facing ch ild re ­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and s tay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
274
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 des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing 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 occup ied by a person when it is
no t, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting on the sea t. T he 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 d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is
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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 279. 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 2 79.
-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 316 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.
275

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
(s uch as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child safety seats) on the front passen­ ger seat if the dev ice is connected to the
12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
Such dev ices can influence the capac itance
reg istered by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system, so that incor rect informa­
t ion is provided to the airbag cont rol un it.
- 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
276
the airbag indicato r light min the instru­
ment cluster.
- 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 safety
seats that was used to cert ify the Advanced A ir­
bag System under Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced Airbag System on the passenger
s ide has been turned
off <=> page 279. ..,.

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A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in anyway,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced
Airbag¢ page 267.
More important things to know about front
a irbags
F ig. 2 43 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated position so
that a irbags can unfold properly and provide sup­
p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest a nd face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints have been properly adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
Airb ag sys tem
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It i s important to remember that wh ile the sup­
plementa l airbag system is designed to red uce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injur ies,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra­ s ions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three­
point safety belts on ly in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high e nough
to deploy the airbags .
Fron t airb ags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when t he crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m in imum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control unit.
Th e front passenger airbag also will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l ca pacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas­ senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light¢ page 279 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
-Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the drive r and passengers must al­
ways sit in an up right posit ion, must not
lea n aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an
eye¢ page 268. ~
277

Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat passenger 's frontal
Advanced Airbag a few seconds after the igni­
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- 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
era l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your vehi­
cle was certified; Fo r a lis ting of the child re­
strain ts that were used to certify you r vehi cle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 295 .
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a car bed has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, or
- a rearward -facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rwa rd-facing child restra int has been instal­
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectrica l capac itance registered on
the front passenger seat is eq ua l t o or less than
the combined capacitance of a typica l 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward -facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward-fac ing c hild restraint on the front pas­
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po­
sitions on the rear seat
¢page 268, Child re-
280
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 292, Child safety.
If
the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer ­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
o n. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on all the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turn ing the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn ing it
on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly instal­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r seat has been correct ly routed through
the child restraint as described in the child re­
straint manufactu rer's inst ruct ions;
- ma ke sure that the convert ible lock ing retrac­
to r on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electric al device (s uch as a
laptop, CD p laye r, e lectronic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for chi ld safety
seats) is placed or used on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­ structed;
- make sure that there are no wet ob jects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ign ition is sw itched on),
..,

CXl CXl .... N ,.__
N .... 0 N > 00
-take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the a irbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
-move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BA G light should NOT
come on ...
The PASSEN GER AIR B AG O FF light shou ld NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat . If the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while d riving, under these c ir cu mstan­
ces, make s ure that:
-the ad ult on the front passenger seat is prope r­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the back rest and the
backrest is not recl ined,
-the ad ult is not ta king weight off the seat by
holding on to the
passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or s upporting
their weight on the armrest,
-the safety belt is be ing properly wo rn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety be lt web­
bing,
-there are no aftermar ket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca ­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
cu late electrical capacitance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
,8. WARNING
-
-If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
about S seconds to catch the driver's atten­
t ion. If th is happens, a lways stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri-
bed above .
Airbag sys tem
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is sitting on the front passenger seat
after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the a irbag sys tem inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re t rans­
porting anyone on the front passenger seat .
,8. WARNING
=
An airbag system that is not functioning prop-
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a fronta l crash .
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ~ page 29
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inflate when it should.
,8. WARNING
If the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re­
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
-Even though you r vehicle is equipped with
a n Advan ced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for the ir age and size.
-Always install forwa rd or re ar-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced Airbag System.
-I f you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be ­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in­
spected by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
281