light AUDI A3 SEDAN 2018 Owners Manual

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System settings
Setting the date and
time
You can set the clock time manually or using the
CPS* .
.. Select : IMENUI button> Settings> left control
button >
MMI settings > Date & time.
.. Or : select : IMENUI button> Vehicle> left con-
trol button >
Vehicle settings > Date & time .
Automatic setting
When this function is switched on g, the time
and date are automatically set.
Time
Requirement: the Automatic setting must be
switched
off .
Press the control knob. You can set the Time
manually by turning and pressing the control
knob.
Date
Requirement: the Automatic setting must be
switched
off.
Press the control knob . You can set the Date
manually by turning and press ing the control
knob.
Time zone
When selecting the appropriate time zone, a
sampling of countries in this zone will be listed .
Automatic time zone*
When this function is switched on g, the time
will automatically adjust to the corresponding
time zone.
Automatic daylight saving time*
When this function is switched on g, the time
will automatically switch to daylight saving time .
Time format
If you select 24h, the clock will display, for ex­
ample,
13:00 . If you select AM/PM , the clock
will disp lay, for examp le,
1:00 PM .
System settings
Date format
If you select DD.MM.YYYY , the date display will
show, for example ,
31.08.2017. If you select
MM/DD/YYYY , the date display will show, for ex­
amp le,
08/31/2017. If you select YYYY-MM­
DD ,
the date display will show, for example,
2017-08-31 .
MMI settings
.. Select: !MENU I button> Settings> left control
button >
MMI settings .
Language
You can change the display language as well as
the language for the voice guidance* and voice
recognition system*.
T he number of languages available depends on
the market.
Measurement units
The following measurement units can be set de­
pend ing on availability:
Speed , Distance , Tem­
perature , Fuel consumption , Volume , Pressure.
Tool tips
When this funct ion is switched on g, your MMI
shows you tips for input . The frequency of how
often it displays decreases with time.
Speech dialog system
Applies to : vehicles wit h voice recog nitio n system
Depend ing on veh icle equipment, the following
funct ions may be ava ilable:
Command display : when this function is switch ­
ed on
g, the MMI will show you the possible
commands for voice input in the respective
menu.
Short dialog : when this function is switched on
g, a shorter form of the prompts is used .
Command during voice output*: thi s function is
switched on at the factory . W hen this function is
switched on
g, you can say new commands dur-
ing announcements. You do not need to wait for
the signal tone (beep) dur ing an announcement.
When the funct ion is swi tched off
0, you need to Iii>
243

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Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
The individual safety features of your vehicle can
work together as a system to help protect you
and your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if they
are not always correctly adjusted and correctly
used .
This chapter contains important informat ion,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar­
iz ed here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Al­
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section -for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The informa tion in t his section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea ­
tures described in this sections may be standard
eq uip ment on some models, or may be optional
equ ipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-Always make sure that you follow the in­
struct ions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in­
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera­
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell yo ur
vehicle so that this important information
w ill always be available to the driver and
passengers.
-Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques­
tions .
Driving safety
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job ! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.. Make sure that a ll lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly.
.. Make sure tha t the tire pressure is correct .
.. Make sure that all w indows are clean and afford
good vis ibility to the outs ide.
.. Secure all luggage and othe r items ca refully
c::> page 63, c::> page 63 .
.. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
peda ls .
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correct ly for your height.
.. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height.
.. Make sure to use the right child restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
c::> page 294, Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure t hat
your passengers do the same
c::> page 59, Front
seats .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly. Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts properly
c::> page 260.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle , the driver as well as the driver 's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve ­
hicle and a ll of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impa ired, safety risks for everybody in the
vehicle increase and you a lso become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
c::> &_ . Therefore:
.. Do not let yourse lf be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
.. NEVER drive when your driving abi lity is im­
pa ired (by med ications, alcohol, drugs, etc .) .
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed lim its and plain common sense .
.,.
249

Driving sa fety
,.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
,.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
,.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
sure or whe n you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety inc reases the risk of
ser ious persona l inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver sea ting po sition is impor tan t
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 217 Correc t seat ing posit ion
F or your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position :
,.. Adjust the dr iver's seat so tha t you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor whi le
keeping your knee(s) s light ly
bent ¢ ,A.
,.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive.
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm ) between the
stee ring wheel and your breast bone
<=;> fig . 217 .
If not possib le, see you r autho rized Aud i dea l­
ersh ip about adaptive equipment .
250
,.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wh eel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face.
,.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
,.. F or ad justab le head rest raints: Adjust the head
restraint so t he upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, t ry to adjust the head restraint so tha t it
is a s close to this pos it ion as poss ible . M ove the
he ad restraint so tha t it is as close to the back
o f the head as possible.
,.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
q page264 .
,.. Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at all times .
Fo r detail ed information on how to adjust the
dr iver's seat,
see ¢ page 59.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted , out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in-
jured by an airbag as it unfo lds . To help re-
duce the risk of serio us pe rsonal i njury:
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the steer ing whee l so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing whee l so that the re are at least
4 inch es (10 cm) between the knees a nd the
lower part of the ins trumen t panel.
-Always hold t he s teering wheel on the out­
side of t he steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the dr iver 's airbag inflates.
-Never hold the stee ring wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with you r hands at
other positions inside the steer ing whee l
rim o r on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
-
if the driver's airbag inflates . .,_

Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
"'Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother
-throughout
the entire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Applies to: vehicles without power top: Your Audi
has a total of five seating positions: two in the
front and three in the rear . Each seating position
has a safety belt .
Applies to: vehicles with power top: Your Audi
has a total of four seating positions: two in the
front and two in the rear. Each seating position
has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
260
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint .
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig. 224 Safety belt warning ligh t in the instrument clus ­
ter
-enlarged
Before driving off, always:
"' Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
U) N Ill 0 ..:. "'Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
"' Protect children with a child restraint system
appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you will hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING -
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
~

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injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig . 225 Unbe lted occupants in a veh icle head ing fo r a wall
Fig . 2 26 The ve hicle c rashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies w ith veh icle speed and body we ight. Engi­
neers call this energy "k inetic energy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most signif icant facto r. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
SO km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of t his veh icle are not us­
ing safety
belts ~ fig. 225, they will keep mov ing
Safet y bel ts
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the
wall ~ fig. 226 .
The same p rinciples apply to people s itting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs, o r 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle . In a frontal col lis ion
they will also keep mov ing forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions , they determine wha t happens
in a ll kinds of accidents and co llisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted oc cupants cannot stop
them selves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fi g. 227 A driver not wear ing a safe ty belt is violen tly
throw n forward
Fig. 228 A rea r passe nge r not we aring a safety be lt w ill fly
forwa rd a nd strike t he drive r
Ill-
261

Safe ty belts
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
F ig. 230 Belt buckle and tong ue o n the dr iver's seat
N ± ... a,
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear ­
er's body .
"'Adjust the fro nt sea t and head restra int proper­
ly
¢ page 59 , Front seats .
"'Make su re the seatback of the rear sea t bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before using the
belt ¢.&_ .
"'Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢ fig. 230, ¢ .&_.
"'Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely .
"' Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
l atched in the buck le.
Autom atic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
du ring hard braking and in an accident . The be lt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or th rough a sharp curve. Dur ing no rma l dr iv­
i n g the bel t lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
Safety belts w ith pretensioners help to tighten
the safety belt and remove slack when the pre­ tensioners a re
activated ¢ page 267. The func­
tion of the pretens ioner is moni to red by a w arn­
ing
light¢ page 26.
264
Convertible lock ing retractor
Eve ry safe ty belt except the one on t he d river
seat is equipped with a convertib le lock ing retrac ­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a ch ild seat. Be sure to read the
i mportant information about this feature
¢ page 305 .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious inj ury in an
accident ¢ page 265,
Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is up right and belts are
properly posit ioned on the body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat back ­
rest to which the center rear safety belt* is
at tached is securely latched whenever the
rear cen ter safety belt is being used.
If the
b ackrest is not sec urely latche d, the passen­
ger will move forward with the bac krest du r­
ing sudden b raking, in a sudden maneuver
and especia lly in a crash.
-Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt e ffec­
tiveness and can cause serio us personal in­
jury.
-A passenge r who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into cri tical areas like the abdo­
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor when yo u are securing a c hild seat in the ve­
h icle
~ page 307.

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about children and Advanced Airbags
~page 294 .
Even though yo ur vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al ­
ways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat .
It can be a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a ch ild in a rea rward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to comply w ith the requ irements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica ­
b le at the time your veh icle was man ufactu red.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
p loyment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (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
PA S·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll stay on if the electrical capacitance meas ­
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed­
eral Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was cert ified . F o r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to ce rt ify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
~ page 297 .
Airbag syste m
- wi ll stay on if there is a small child or child re ­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu ­
pied by an adu lt as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system
~ page 281, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PAS SEN GER 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 restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard 208 w it h which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was ce rti­
fied.
If the to tal electr ical capacitance reg istered o n
the 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 s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic cont rol
u nit and can dep loy if the control unit senses an
impact t hat meets the conditions stored in its
memory.
For example , the airbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regardless of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child seats listed
~ page 297), 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
i nst 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 " deployment occurs in t hose crashes that
take place at lowe r decele rations as defined in
the e lectronic co ntrol
unit~ page 281, PASSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
...
271

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 ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children
-when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size
-we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢ page 294, 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 a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- 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
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll 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 passenge r'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 circumst ances, 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 ce rt ified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag .
272
-
- Never put the fo rwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r 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 fo re and aft
ad justmen t range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-f acing 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 th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure th at 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, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild rest raint is in­
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 281 , Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspec ted by your
Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow ins tructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints .
.8, WARNING
I f, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fa cing child re­
str aint on the fron t passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child res traints can
redu ce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provid ing any pro te ct ion .

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
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 on ly 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 prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uir es yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rt ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire­
ments fo r 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the d rive r
side . The low r is k dep loymen t cr iteria are intend ­
ed to he lp reduce t he ris k of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to t urn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
<=:> page 297, 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 restra ined
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 Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the c hild
r estra in ts tha t were used to certify your ve hi­
cl e's comp lian ce wi th t he US S afety St andard
<=:> page 29 7,
- When a person is de te cte d on the fron t passen ­
ger sea t th at has an electr ica l capaci tance t hat
is mo re t han t he tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-facing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your ve hicle was certified), the front
Airbag syste m
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detec ts a t otal
electrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
t h at requires the front airbag to be turned
off . If
t h e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light 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 a n impact
t h at meets the cond it ions stored in its memory .
If the total electr ica l capacitance reg istered o n
the front passenger seat is more t han that of a
typ ical 1 year-old , but less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if :
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 297),
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r ai rbag 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 airbag deploys, the Feder ­
al Standard requi res t he airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp reduce the r is k
of i njury through interaction with the a irbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
t h at take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n t he electron ic co ntro l
unit ¢ page 281 .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined o n the back
seat . Please be s ure to read the impo rtant in for­
mation in the sect ions that fo llow a nd be sure to
heed all of the WAR NIN GS.
_&. WARNING
To redu ce th e r is k of injury when an air bag in -
fl ates, always wea r sa fe ty be lts properly .
...,
275

Airbag syste m
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition 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 ¢ page 269.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof .
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating position
and have the airb ag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in ­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward -facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag.
276
-
- 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 installing the for­
ward-f acing 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 th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure th at 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
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat . The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way th at is differen t from the w ay it wou ld
have worked without the objec t on the seat .
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These pa rts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more . T he control unit monitors the system
o n the front passenger seat when the ignit ion is
switched on a nd turns the airbag indicato r light
o n when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is
detected ¢ page 281. Because
t h e fron t passenger sea t contains impo rtan t
parts of the Advanced Ai rbag System , you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
.,.