seats AUDI A4 2016 Owner's Manual

Safe ty belts
Never rely o n airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are a lways there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready dep loyed. Unbel ted occupants can
a lso be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass enge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he rea r seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 145. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
F ig . 14 6 Driver is correctly restrai ned in a sudde n braking
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont rolled moveme nt that can cause seri­
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the veh icle .
132
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car an d give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tole rab le" and less likely to cause inj ury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re ­
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes.
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just going to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t stat ist ics show that veh i­
cl e o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sions, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceleration throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de ­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .

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_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correct ly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are cor rect ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitt ing
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or st icking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder be lt . However, spe­
cial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler .
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inert ia reel¢
page 193.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
F ig. 14 7 Belt buckle and tongu e on t he d river' s se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly
¢ page 59, Seats and storage.
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion a nd securely latched in
place before using the belt
Q _&. .
"' Ho ld the bel t by the tongue and pu ll it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢_&. .
... Insert the tongue in to the correct buckle of
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
Qfig. 147.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle .
IIJ,,
133

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is mon itored by
a warning light
r:::') page 19.
Convertib le loc king retracto r
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mus t be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant information about this feature
c:;, page 167.
.&_ WARNING
Imprope rly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:;, page 134,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
134
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c:;, page 169.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 148 Safety belt posit ion
-"' .... 9 I ... a,
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
s ize.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the rear
seats .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an acc ident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fi t well on t he body. Hold the belt
above the latch to ng ue and pull it evenly
across the chest so tha t it s its as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen . The belt sho uld a lways f it
snug ly
c:;, fig. 148 . Pull on the belt to tig hten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as poss ible across pel ­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat and snug
c:;, fig. 148. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary. .,.

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-A loose-fitting safety be lt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its pos ition on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c!) page 132.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The bes t way to pro tec t the fe tus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig . 14 9 Safe ty belt pos itio n dur ing pregn an cy
To provide max imum p rotection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
c:> page 134.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 59 , Seats and storage .
.,. Make su re th e seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before using the belt.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even ly
across the chest and pelv is
c:> fig. 149, c:> ,& .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rec t buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
,:!)page 133, fig . 147.
.,. Pull on the be lt to m ake sure that it is securely
latched in the bu ck le .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious personal inj ury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
Safety bel ts
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion ¢
A in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 134.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle has stopped.
.,
JJ
Fig. 150 Releasi ng t he to ngue from the buckle
.,. Push the red re lease but ton on the buck le
r:!) fig. 150 . The belt tongue w ill spr ing out of
t he buck le
c:> ,& .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retra ctor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed posit ion.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
i ng injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout ing
can be fi tted to the shoulder area, according to
body size .
Fig. 1 51 Safety belt height a dju stm ent fo r th e fro nt seat s
0 .... N 0
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... 0 0
0
6 ... co
-loop -a round fittings Ill>
135

Safety belts
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
c::> A in Safety belt position on
page 134.
"' Push
the loop -around fittings up c::> fig. 151 @ ,
or
"'squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings down@.
"'Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­ er important informat ion
c::> page 132.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety belts and will even inc rease the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Improper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating pos i­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
veh icle occupants and especially for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c>_& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
136
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c::> page 132.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts ore tensioned au­ tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end collisions of great se­
verity . This t igh tens the belt and takes up belt
s lack
c::> & in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 137.
Tak ing up the s lack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur­
ing a collis ion.
(D Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once.
- Th e safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end colli­
sions.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety belt
pretensioners will activate on the driver's or
front passenger's sides only, depending on
wh ich side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti­
vated, a fine dust is released. This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you. .,_

Airbag syste m
safety seat. It can be a very dangerous p lace for
an infant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to comp ly with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applica ­
b le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger s ide 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).
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been tu rned off
by the elect ronic cont rol unit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignit ion , the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on fo r a few
seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will s tay on if there is a small c hild or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight ­
sensing mat¢
page 148, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light comes on
when the control unit detects a total we ight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
airbag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a irbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come
on) .
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the condit ions stor ­
ed in its memory.
For e xample, the airbag may deploy if:
140
- a small chi ld that is heavier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on th e front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed ¢
page 160), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
instrument cluster and stays on.
The fro nt airbag on the passenge r side may
not
deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with thei r back against a non-recl ined back­
rest with the ir fee t on the vehicle floor in front of
the sea t is on the fron t passenger sea t
<=> page 122, Proper seating position for the driv ­
er .
If the front passenger a irbag 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 interaction w ith the airbag . '' low
risk " deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lowe r de cele rations as defined in
the e lec tronic co ntro l unit ¢
page 148, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OF F light.
Always remembe r, a chi ld safety seat or infant
c ar rie r ins talled on the front seat may be s truck
and knocked ou t of posit ion by t he rap idly i nflat­
i ng passenge r's airbag in a frontal coll is ion . The
airbag could greatly red uce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the child during inflation.
Fo r th is reason, and beca use the back seat is the
safest place for children -when properly restrain ­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 158, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
a ir bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
Ill>

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... -The inflating airbag will 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
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­ cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating pos it ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your a uthorized Audi dea le r.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the child.
~ WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger 's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le befo re installing the for­
wa rd- facing child restra int. The bac krest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of serious in jury, make s ure
t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill
be displayed wheneve r a child restraint is in­
stalled on t he front passenger seat and t he
ign ition is switched on.
Airb ag sys tem
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 148, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal ­
ling child restra ints .
A WARNING
-If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in-
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on t he fron t passenger 's seat:
- Imp roper installat ion of child res traints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provi ding any pro te ct ion.
- An imprope rly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kil l the c hild -eve n
with an Advanced A irb ag Sys tem.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided wi th the child sa fe ty
seat or ca rr ie r.
- Never p lace add ition al it ems on the se at
that can increase the total weight registered
by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in ­
jury in a crash .
141

Airbag syste m
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 152 Location of driver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 153 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with Un ited States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Sta ndard (CMVSS) 208 as app licable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured. The
safety belts for the seats have "pretensioners"
that help to take slack out of the belt system.
The pretensioners are also activated by the elec­
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety be lts also have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
<=>fig . 152 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
<=>fig. 153. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
142
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children .
.&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for prote ct ion.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety be lts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, wi ll receive
serious inju ries and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
-
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag i f 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 under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old ch ild is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition.
- For their own safety, all chi ld ren, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back proper ly restrained for their age
and size .

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver 's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
f late only in frontal 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 overall occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. Always 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 prope rly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low r is k" requi re­
ments fo r 3 and 6 ye ar-old children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re ­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 160, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"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
Airb ag sys tem
in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
veh icle was certif ied. For a List ing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 160,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in the
control un it is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen­ ger seat, weighing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about
1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward -fac ing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System i n your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may o r may not de­
ploy .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
weight on the fron t passenger sea t th at req uires
the front a irbag to be turned off . If th e
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
condit io ns stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the ai rb ag may deploy if :
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
¢ page 160),
- 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 wi ll come on and stay on .
T he front airbag on the passenger s ide m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: ..,.
143

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... greater detail below. Because the front passen­
ger seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to pre ­
vent it from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the front
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Adv anced Airb ag Sy stem con sist s
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle accelerat ion/decelerat io n to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors fo r front and side impacts . The
contro l 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 safe ty be lt pretens ioners
sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generato r and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
whee l hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under t he upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the total weight on the seat . The
information registered is sent continuously to
the electron ic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Adva need A irbag on the pas­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light i n the instrument cluster
¢ page 148.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent cont inuous ly to the
electroni c control unit to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Adv a need A irbags.
- T he
PASS EN GE R AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 148, fig . 155 a nd tells you when
the fron t Advan ced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A se nsor below the safe ty bel t lat ch fo r th e
front seat passenger to meas ure the tens ion on
Airb ag sys tem
the sa fe ty belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned off or not¢
page 139, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched o r not and
t ransmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it.
_& WARNING
Da mage to the front passenge r seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Imp roper repair or disassembly of the fro nt
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unct ioning
p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified an d properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenge r or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it.
- Never ca rry sharp objects in your pocke ts or
p la ce them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenge r seat. S uch items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store items unde r the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from worki ng p roper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery tha t have not been specifically ap­
p roved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag Sys tem from recognizing chi ld
145