ignition AUDI A3 SEDAN 2018 Repair Manual

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
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 .

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
.,.

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-Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates
-
even with an Advanced Airbag 9 page 269 .
More important things to know about front
airbags
F ig. 238 Inf lated fro nt a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold prope rly and provide sup­
p lemental pro tection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide add i­
tional protect ion for the chest and 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
g reat fo rce, things you have on your lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
W hen an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irr itate skin .
It is important to remember that whi le the sup ­
p lemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other injuries,
for example swel ling, bruising and minor abra -
Airbag system
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate . Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supp lement the three ­
po int safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle dece leration is high enough
to dep loy the airbags .
Front airbags will not depl oy :
- if the ignition is switche d off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear -end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash decele ration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m inimum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loymen t as registe red
by the electronic con trol un it.
The front passenger airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
t he front passenge r seat ind icates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the e lectronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light c::> page 281 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright posit ion, m ust not
lean 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
i n jur ed by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
c::> page 2 70. jll,,,
279

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Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the fun ction of
the Advanced Airbag System : the
El ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side curta in airbags with ejec tion
m it iga tion feat ures ( incl udi ng t he e lectro nic con­
tro l unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored co nti nu ously to ma ke sure that they
are funct ion ing prope rly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime yo u turn on the ignition, the air ­
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
The system mu st be inspected when the
indicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile driving.
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de tected, the
indicator light w ill come on to serve as a co nstant
rem inder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
If a mal function occurs t hat turns the front air ­
bag on the passenger si de
off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignit io n is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop­
er ly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 26
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the sys te m inspect ed immed iate ly by yo ur
au tho riz ed Au di dealer.
It is possible that
t h e air bag will in flate w hen it i s n ot su p­
p osed to, o r will not infla te whe n it s hou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 239 Center con so le : p asse nger a irbag off wa rning
light
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht is loc ated in
t h e cente r of the instrume nt
panel ¢ fig. 239.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill come o n
and st ay on to te ll yo u when the front Adv anced
Airbag on the passenger sid e has bee n turned o ff
by the e lec tronic contro l unit. If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light bur ns o ut, the
airbag indicato r light
El will come on to signal a
malfunction in the Advanced A irbag System. Al ­
t h ough the burned-out bu lb w ill not change the
way the front passenger's fronta l airbag works, it
will no longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light to ma ke sure that the a irbag
o n/off status is cor rec t for the oc cupan t on the
front pas senge r seat. Have the air bag system in­
spe cted imme dia tely by your au thori zed A udi
dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger 's fron­
t al Advanced Airbag on and
off, detects a
change i n the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always ma ke sure that the a irbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
l ight is p roper for the age, si ze and
ele ctri cal c ap aci tance of the pe rso n oc cupying
t h e front passenger sea t. A lways make s ure that
the safety be lt fo r the front passe nger seat is
prope rly faste ned.
..,.
281

Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show the status of the front seat passenger 's frontal
Advan ced 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 passenge r seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the elect rical capac itance meas­
u red by the capac itive passenger detection sys ­
tem fo r the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of a n infant up to about
o n e year of age and o ne of the rearward -facing
o r fo rwa rd-facing chi ld restra in ts lis ted in Fed­
era l Mo to r Ve hicle Safety Sta ndar d 208 w it h
w hich the Advance d Airbag Syste m in your ve hi­
cl e w as c ertified; Fo r a listing o f the chi ld re ­
st rain ts that were use d to ce rtify you r ve hicl e's
com pliance with t he U.S . Safety Sta ndar d
¢page 297 .
-will go out if the front pas senge r seat is occu ­
p ied by an adult as reg istere d by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht must come
o n an d stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a ca r bed has been insta lled on t he fron t pas ­
senger seat, o r
- a rearwar d-faci ng child res train t h as been in ­
sta lled on t he front passe nger seat, or
- a f orwar d-f acing child res trai nt ha s bee n in sta l­
l e d on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the elec trical c apac it a nc e regis tered on
t h e fron t pa ssenger sea t is eq ual t o or le ss than
the comb ined ca pacitan ce of a typica l 1 yea r­
o ld infant a nd one of the rearwar d-fac ing o r
f o rwa rd-facing chi ld restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Sta ndard 208 w ith w hich
the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
I f th e front passenger seat is not occ upied, the
front a irbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay o n. Never install a
rearward -fac ing c hild rest raint on the front pas­
senge r sea t, the safes t place for a child in any
kin d of c hild r estrai nt is a t one of the sea ting po­
si tions on the re ar sea t
¢page 270, Child re-
282
s traints on the front sea t - some important
things to know
and ¢ page 294 , Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n one of t he conditions listed above is met,
b e su re to c heck the light regular ly to make cer ­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
stays on continuously wheneve r the ignition is
o n. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht does
not appea r on and does no t stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignit io n
off for more than 4 seconds and the n tu rni ng it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint. Make
sure that the child restra in t is prope rly insta l­
l e d and tha t th e safe ty belt for the fro nt pas­
senge r sea t has been corre ct ly rou ted t hrough
t he child r estra int as d escribe d in th e child r e­
s tra int manufac tur er's in st ru cti ons ;
- mak e sure th at t he convert ible lo cki ng re trac ­
to r o n the
sa fety belt for t he fro nt passe nge r
seat h as been a ctivat ed a nd t hat t he s afety bel t
h as bee n pu lled tigh t.
- mak e sure th at no e lec trical device (s uch as a
lap to p, C D playe r, e lectro nic games dev ice,
power inverte r o r seat heater fo r chi ld seats) is
placed o r used o n the fro nt passen ger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-vo lt soc ket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat hea ter has bee n ret ro ­
fitted o r othe rw ise ad ded to t he front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that not hing can inte rfere with t he
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
st ructed;
- make sure that t here are no wet o bjects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or ot her liquids on
the front passenge r seat c ushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on . ..
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come o n an d does not stay o n continuously
(whe n the ign ition is sw itched on) ,
.,.

u. 00 .-< N l'­ 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 proper ly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light shou ld NOT
come on whe n 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
S seconds while d rivi ng, under these c ir c umstan­
ces, make s ure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the bac krest and the
back rest is not recl ined,
-the ad u Lt is not ta king weig ht off t he seat by
hold ing on to the passenger
assist handle
above t he fron t passenger door o r su pporting
their weight on the armrest,
-the safety be lt is be ing properly wo rn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the sa fety be lt web ­
bing,
-there are no aftermar ket seat covers or c ush ­
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 capac itance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.&_ WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PA SSENGER 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 syste m
- 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 adu lt is properly seated and
rest rained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re t rans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat .
.&_ 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 26
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.
.&_ 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
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for their age and size.
-Always install fo rwa rd or rea r-f acing child
seats on the rear seat -even w ith an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
-If you must install a rearward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances an d the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
stay on, immed iate ly install the rea r-facing
child seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
283

Airbag syste m
seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
Make sure that the
P A SSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is sw itched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go o ut w hen an ad ult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adu lt is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transporting anyone on
the front passenger seat .
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenge r detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the fronta l airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSE NGER
AIR BAG OFF light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent places on your Aud i. Install ing , remov­
ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a pa rt of an airbag system
and p revent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important th ings you have to
know to make sure that the effect iveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and th at discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce ­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
284
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in ­
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup ho lders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened w it h plai n water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the ai rbag cannot deploy and p rotect
p roperly.
- Never repair, ad just, o r change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steer ing wheel, inst rument
pa nel, front seats o r electr ica l system ( in­
cl uding the insta llation of a udio eq uipment,
cell ular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur a u­
thorized A udi dealer or qualified workshop .
- Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inf late wit hout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement upholstery ove r the front seatbacks that
have not bee n specifica lly approved by
A udi .
- Never use additional seat c ushi ons that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
t h e seam in the area of the s ide a irbag
module mus t always be repai red immedi ­
ate ly by an authorized Aud i dealer.
- The airba g sys tem can deploy o nly on ce. Af ­
t er an airbag has been dep loyed, i t m ust be
replaced with new replaceme nt parts de ­
signed and approved especia lly for your
Aud i mode l version . Rep lacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be performed by qua lified workshops
only . Make sure t hat any airbag service

Airbag system
The airbag system is not a substitute for yo ur
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­ member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law req uires you to do so
q page 260, Gener­
al notes.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in ce rtain k inds of accidents
-yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protect ion in those
accidents in wh ich airbags a re not suppose d to
deploy or w hen they h ave already deployed, fo r
examp le when your vehicle str ikes or is str uck by
another after the firs t collision .
T his is jus t one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a subs titut e for the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works most effec tively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, a lways wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember th at whi le the sup­
p lemen tal knee a irbag system is des igned to re­
duce the like lih ood of se rious injuries, other inju ­
ries, for example, swe lling, b ruising an d minor
ab rasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inf lates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of :
- The elec tronic control module
- T wo infl atab le airbags (airbag a nd gas genera-
t or), one for the driver an d one fo r the fron t
passenger
- T he airbag indic ato r ligh t in the ins trumen t
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-whe n the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the decele ration
measured by the control u nit is too low
- in s ide collisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in rollove rs
- in the eve nt o f a sys tem ma lf u nct ion (wa rning/
indicator light is on)
q page 26 .
286
A WARNING
,-
- Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protect io n when occupa nts ar e in
the prope r seat ing pos ition
~ page 2 79 .
-If the a irbag ind icator light ¢ page 26
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
t he system inspected immedia tely by your
author ized A udi de aler.
It is possib le th at
the air bag will i nfl at e w hen i t is no t sup ­
po sed to , or w ill no t in fla te w hen it sho uld .
How knee airbags work
Applies to: vehicles wi th knee airbags
The risk of injury to the leg area can be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 241 Inflated a irbags protec ting in a fro nta l co llis io n
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front passen­
ger dep loy in ce rtain but not all fronta l collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy i n frontal col lisions when the dep loyment
th reshold stored in the cont rol unit is met.
When the system deploys , the a irbags f ill with a
compressed pro pellant gas, and inflate between
the lowe r part of the instrument panel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument panel
and t he front
passenger¢ page 2 79, fig. 238 .
Althoug h they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they ca n
help to red uce the risk of in jury to the lower ex­
trem ities.
A ll of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many people don 't even rea lize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a g reat deal of force and it is important fo r
Ill-

Airbag syste m
can be used with properly insta lled child re­
straints. Please be sure to read the important in ­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a veh icle: Safety belts
c> page 260,
Airbag system c> page 269, Ch ild safety
c> page294 .
The s ide ai rb ag sy stem basic ally con sists of:
- the e lectron ic co ntrol mod ule and externa l side
impact sensors
- th e two airbags loca ted in t he sides of t he front
backrests and the two airbags* located in the
rear back rest
- th e a irbag wa rn ing light in the inst rument cl us-
ter.
The a irbag system is monito red elect ronically to
make certa in that it is funct ioning prope rly at all
t imes. Ea ch time you sw itch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicato r light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide a irba g system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's, front and rear* passenger 's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle t hat is struck in a
side co llision . The airbag dep loys only in side im ­
pacts and on ly when the ve hicle acceleration reg­
is tered by the control unit is h igh enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in ­
to the control un it, the s ide a irbags w ill not be
tr iggered , even thoug h the ca r may be bad ly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos­
sib le to define an a irbag tr igger ing range that
will cover every possib le ang le of impact , since
the circumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors in ­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed , etc.
c> page 289, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front p as­
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint sys tem in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the s ide airbag system can only
288
help to protect you if you are wear ing you r safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea ­
son why you should a lways wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so c> page 260, General no tes.
It is important to remember that w hile the sup­
plementa l side airbag system is designed to re ­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other in ju­
ries, for example, swelling, bru is ing, friction
burns and m inor abras ions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags . Remember too, s ide
a irbags w ill dep loy only once and only in certa in
ki nds of acc idents
-you r safety belts are a lways
t h ere to offer p rotect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over-se nsit ive or fa iled a irbag act ivat ion. In
some coll is ions, bo th front and side airbags may
i nflate. Remember too, tha t airbags w ill dep loy
on ly once and on ly in certain kinds of collisions
-
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec ­
tion in those accidents in which ai rbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will n ot deplo y:
-when t he ignition is switched off
- in side co llisions when the a ccelera tion meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in fro nt-end coll is io ns
- in rea r-end co llisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are i n
the prope r sea ting pos it ion
c> page 289.
- If t he a irbag ind icator light c> page 26
comes w hen the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspe cted immedia tely by your
author ized A udi dealer. It is poss ib le that
the airbag will in flate when i t is not sup ­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should .