AUDI A4 2017 Owners Manual

Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide additional pro te ction
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re ­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can 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 jus t because the law req uires yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" requi re­
men ts for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are inten d­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inf lates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 2 79, 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
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Ai rbag System in your
;;!; vehicle was ce rtified. For a listi ng of the ch ild ....
~ restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i-
N 8 cl e's compl iance wi th t he US Safe ty St andard
0 3 c::> page 2 79,
Airb ag sys tem
-When a pe rson is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat that has an elect rical capacitance that
is more than the total e lectr ica l capacitance of
a child that is about
1 year o ld restrained in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in you r vehicle was cert ified), t he front
ai rbag on the passenger side may or may no t
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
whe n the elect ronic control unit detects a tota l
elect rical capacitance o n the front passe nger sea t
t h at re quires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registe red on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year -o ld, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
~; light does not come on) .
For e xample , the airbag may deploy if :
-a sm all ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c::> page 2 79),
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irb ag is turne d off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light in the head ­
li ner wi ll come on and stay on .
If the front passenge r a ir bag deploys, the Feder ­
al S tand ard requ ires t he a irbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp red uce the r isk
of i njur y through interaction with the airbag .
" Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit.
c> page 265
Alway s remember: Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
f or children is properly restrained on the back ..,.
259

Airbag syste m
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­ ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r:::;, page 253 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed i f the front
airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest , door,
o r roof .
- Always install rearward -facing ch ild re ­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
c ome on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
260
A WARNING ,_
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
no t, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting on the sea t. T he presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be
off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is ..,.

switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 265. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag Sy stem con sist s
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle accelerat ion/ decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic cont rol unit, with integrated
c rash sensors for 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 contro l unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capac itive passenger detect ion system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capac itance of the
person in the seat . The information registered
i s sent conti nuously to the electron ic cont rol
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght
mi n the instrument cluster.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
stee ring wheel or instrument panel. The info r­
mation reg istered is sent contin uous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- T he
PASSE NGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
; comes on in the headliner
c:> page 265,
~ fig. 222 and te lls you the status of the Ad-
8 vanced Airbag on the passenger side. 0
3 Airb ag sys tem
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control un it.
A WARNING ,.__
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct ion ing
p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passe nger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detect ion mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenge r seat. Such ob ­
jects ca n infl uence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag 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, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing child re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth- erwise added to the front passenger seat ,
~
261

Airbag syste m
never insta ll any chi ld restraint system on
this seat .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The add itional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurat ely
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe ­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
wor king properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
i f the device is conne cted to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . Such
devices can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capac itive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit .
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufact urer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
prope rly position the ch ild rest raint, make
c ertain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not come on and stay on, immediate ly
insta ll child restra int in a rear seating posi­
t ion and have the airbag system inspected
by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat, this can keep the a irbag system from work­
ing properly and may , for instance, deact i­
va te the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;;
light will come on and stay on togethe r wi th
the airbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru­
men t cl uster.
262
- If liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from working properly and cause the passenger fronta l airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a p roperly
installed child res traint system on the seat .
Wet towels or o ther we t things on the se at
cushion can have the same effe ct. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned o n,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light light
wi ll go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front t hree-point safety belts with pretens ione rs
and load lim ite rs and the ad justab le head re­
strain ts to help reduce t he risk of injury in a wide
r ange of accident and c rash s itu ations. Be sure to
read the important info rmation abou t safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adva nced A irbag System and
the activa tion of the safe ty belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece lera tion measured by the crash
senso rs and registered by the electronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel ­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle o r object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capaci tive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he e lectronic control unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be turned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
the fron t passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year o f age in one o f the chi ld sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem under Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Ai rbag System on the passenger side
has been turned off
Q page 265 . .,,.

_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in anyway,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 253.
More important things to know about front
a irbags
F ig. 221 Inflated front airbags
0 0 M
-..:, ... m
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated position so
that a irbags can unfold properly and provide sup­
p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest a nd face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly ad-
justed
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
~ When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
8 This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
~ vehicle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
co
Airb ag sys tem
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that wh ile the sup­
plementa l airbag system is designed to red uce
the likelihood of serio us injuries, other injur ies,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra­ s ions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three­
point safety belts on ly in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high e nough
to deploy the airbags .
Fron t airb ags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- when t he crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m in imum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control unit
Th e front passenger airbag also will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l ca pacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas­
senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
11,;; light ¢ page 265 comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
-Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the drive r and passengers must al­
ways sit in an up right posit ion, must not
lea n aga ins t or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi tion
or too close to the airbag c an be serio usly
inj ured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye¢
page 254. ~
263

Airbag system
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
airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child 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 -facing child
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, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer ­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself . These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
264
the area of the side airbag or the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat .
- Always make sure that there is nothing 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 occupied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way that is different from the way it would have
worked without the object on the seat .
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy , wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches. ..,_

-If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the
E,I light and
the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a irbags and side curtain airbags with eject io n
mitigation feat ures (incl uding the e lectronic con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to ma ke sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ign ition is
on . Every t ime you turn on the ign ition, the air­
bag system indi cator light
m will come on for a
few seconds (function check) .
The s yste m must b e in spect ed wh en th e
indicato r light
El:
- does no t come on when the igni tion is sw itched
on
- doe s not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on while driving
I f an airbag system malfunction is detected , the
indicator light wi ll come o n to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the pass enger side off, the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
-If the airbag indicato r light c> page 33
comes when the vehicle is be ing used , have
t he system inspected immed iate ly by yo ur
authori zed Audi dealer.
It is possible that
the a irbag will inf late when it is not s up­
posed to, or will not infla te whe n it shou ld .
Airb ag sys tem
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; ON @ light
Fig. 222 Sect io n fro m th e he adliner : PASS ENGER AIR BAG
O FF ~; ON
@ lig ht
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light is
located in t he headliner
c> fig . 222.
T he PASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light will come
o n and stay on to tell you when the fron t Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
turned off by t he e lectron ic control unit . If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
light b urns out, the a irbag ind icator light m w ill
come on to signal a malfunction in the Advanced
Airbag System. Although the burned-out bu lb
will not change the way the front pa ssenger's
frontal a irbag works , it w ill no longer be possible
to use the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
ligh t to make su re that the airbag on/off status is
correct fo r the oc cupan t on the front passenge r
seat. Have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
will blink for about
S s econd s when :
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switc hes the front seat passenger's fron­
tal Advanced Airbag o n and off, detects a
change in the status of the front passe nger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON
@ light s tops blin king, always make sure that the
airbag status (on or off) as shown by the ligh t is
proper fo r the age, size and e lec trica l ca pa citance
of the person occ upying the front passenger
seat . Always make su re that the safety be lt for
th e front passenger seat is prop erly fast ened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;/ PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON
@ light will show the st atu s of the ..,.
265

Airbag syste m
front seat p assenge r's frontal Advanced Airbag.
Th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light:
-will come o n if the front pa ssenger seat is not
occupied;
- will come on if the e lectr ica l capacitance meas­
u red by the c apac itive passenger detec tion 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 rest raints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Ai rbag System in your veh i­
cle was certif ied; Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle's
compliance with the U .S. Safety Standard
c=> page 279.
- will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- T he
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF~; light must
come on and s tay o n if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, o r
-a rearward-fac ing ch ild restrai nt has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restra int has bee n in stal ­
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the comb ined capac itance of a typical 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-fac ing o r
fo rward -fa cing chi ld restrain ts lis ted in Federal
Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
certified .
If th e fron t passe nger seat is no t occ upied, the
front ai rbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light wi ll stay on.
Never i nstall a rearward-facing child rest raint on
t he front passenge r sea t, the safes t place for a
chi ld in any k ind of child restraint is at one o f the
seating positions on the rea r seat ¢
page 254,
Child restraints on the front seot -some impor­
tant things to know
and c:> page 2 7 7, Child safe ­
ty .
266
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
com es on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on when one of the condit ions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition
i s on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds and then tur ning it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint. Make
sure that the child restra int is prope rly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r sea t has bee n corre ct ly rou ted th rough
t he child restraint as desc ribed in the ch ild re­
straint man ufact urer's inst ruc tions;
- ma ke sure that the convert ible loc king retr ac­
to r on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt has been pulled tight .
- ma ke sure that no e lectrica l device (s uch as a
laptop , CD p layer , e lectronic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for chi ld seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
struc ted;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light st ill
does not come on and does not stay on cont in u­
ous ly (when the ign ition is switched o n),
- take the child restra int off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
ll-

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 0
3 a,
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light
s h ould NOT com e on ...
The PASS ENGER AI R BAG OFF ~ ; light should
NO T come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat . If the
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on while
driving, under these circumstances, make sure
that :
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or he r back up aga inst the backrest and the
back rest is not reclined,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above t he front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the a.rm rest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush ­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that migh t ca use the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
cu late electrical capacitance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; ON @ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv­
er's attention .
If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is s itting on the front passenger
-
Airb ag sys tem
seat after taking the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions . Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer before trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
f-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop-
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental protect io n
i n a front al crash.
- I f the ai rbag ind icator light~
page 33
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immedia tely by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without 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 seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children , espec ially 12 years and
younge r, always ride on the back seat p rop­
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize .
- Always install fo rwa rd or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advan ced Airbag System.
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional circums tances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;, light does not
appear and stay on, immediate ly install the
rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in­
spected by your authori zed Aud i dea ler.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the a irbag as poss ible . The back rest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
267

Airbag syste m
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
11;; li ght comes on and stays on all t he
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF 11;; light
does not go out when an adult is si tting on
the front passe nger seat a fter ta king the
steps described above, make sure the adult is p roperly seated and restrained at one of
the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
@ Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
11;; light will stay on.
-
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov­ ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
i n a collision .
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repai r proce­
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the stee r­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument pane l or modify them in any way.
268
- Never attach any objects s uch as c upholders
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 ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag canno t deploy and p rotect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust , or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in­
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and C B radios, etc.)
m ust be perfo rmed 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 your au­
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 a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module mus t always be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an autho riz ed Au di dealer.
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. Af­
ter an airbag h as been deployed, i t m ust be
repla ced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved espec ia lly for your
Audi model version . Replacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be perfo rmed by qua lified workshops
only. Make su re that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your A udi Warranty
&
Ma intenance boo klet under AIRBAG RE-
PLAC EM EN T RECORD.
~