belt AUDI A4 2018 Owner's Guide

Airbag system
-Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
,& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
-
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­ partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
276
,& WARNING
, -
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the
,.low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­ hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
-
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
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
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
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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 ­
straint 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 properly re­
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been certified to meet the
"low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-old children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 297, 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 restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listi ng of the ch ild
restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cl e's compl iance with the US Safety St andard
c::> page 297,
- When a person is dete cted on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the tota l electrical capac itance of
a ch ild that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
Airb ag sys tem
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ligh t comes on
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detects a tota l
electrical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F~; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned
off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses a n impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old, b ut less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light does not come on).
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c:> page 297),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is t urned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light in the head­
liner w ill come on and stay on.
If the front passenge r airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires the a irbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the r isk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic control unit .
c::>page 283
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for childre n is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the impor tant infor­
mation in the sec tions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
_& WARNING
To redu ce the risk of injury when an airbag in-
f lates, always wear safe ty belts properly.
llill-
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Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sists
of t he follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
-An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also
"de­
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
shou ld 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 pane l for
the front passenger.
-A capac itive passenger detect io n system unde r­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the elect rical capac ita nce of the
person in the seat. The i nformation registe red
is sent continuously to the electron ic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
-An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
m in the instrument cluster .
-A sensor in each front seat reg isters the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced A irbags.
-The PA SS EN GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON@ light
comes on in the
headliner¢ page 283,
fig. 241 and tells you the status of the Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side .
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ronic
contro l unit.
Airb ag sys tem
_& 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
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect 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 passenger seat. S uch ob­
jects can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informa tion is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store i tems 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 working proper ly.
- 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 chi ld 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,
never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenge r seat .
279

Airbag syste m
The additio na l l ayers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working p roperly.
- 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
if the device is connected to the 12-vol t
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . S uch
devices can infl uence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a c hild restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to prope rly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not come on and s tay on , immediate ly
ins tall child restra int in a rea r seating posi­
tion and have the airbag system inspected
by you r A udi dealer.
_& 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 prope rly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru­
men t cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked i n, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
280
installed child rest raint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect.
If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light light
w ill go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the p rotection offered by the
front three-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints to he lp reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
sure to read the important i nformat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­ pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the elec tronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
e ration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the front passenge r frontal airbag will be
turned off if t he e lectr ica l capaci tance m easured
by the capaci tive p assenge r detection system o n
t h e fron t passenger sea t is less th an the amou nt
programmed in t he e lec tronic cont ro l unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you whe n the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenge r side
has been tu rned
off~ page 283.
_& WARNING
T o reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in ­
f lates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un res trained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher.

- 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 9page 271.
More important things to know about front
airbags
F ig. 2 40 Inflated front a irbags
0 0 M
-.a ;z
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­ p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protect ion for the chest and face of the
driver 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 w ith
great force, things you have on your lap or have p laced on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­ flates .
When 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 while the sup­ plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra-
Airb ag sys tem
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
point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle dece leration is high enough
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbags will not depl oy :
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end coll isions
- in rollovers
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
ai rbag system is less than the m inimum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control un it
The front pass enge r airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ical capacitance measured by
t he capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenge r seat ind icates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag m ust be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BA G OFF
"1; light 9 page 283 comes on
and stays on).
_& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the a irbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are lo cated.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
inj ured by an airbag as it unfolds wi th g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
r:!>page 2 72.
_& WARNING
A child in a re arward-fa cing child safety seat
i nsta lled on t he front passenger sea t will be
serious ly in jured and can be ki lled if the front
Iii-
281

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
¢ page 297.
-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 2 72,
Child restraints on the front seot -some impor­
tant things to know
and ¢ page 295, Child safe ­
ty .
284
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
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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
O FF ~; 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 we ight 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 32
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 .
285

-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
-Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt ­
er must only be performed by
a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in ­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
-I f the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licab le safety precautions
must be followed .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les a nd pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al
-special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts with pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regulations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requi rements a nd we recom­
mend t hat you have you r dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System performs in a crash . For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspens io n,
in clud ing the spr ings, suspens ion str uts, shock
absorbers et c. can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the fo rce levels meas ured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
in g when i t should .
Airbag sys tem
A WARNING
-Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious persona l injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same pe rformance charac­
teristics as the components o rigina lly ins tal­
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations t hat have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to prop erly restrained front sea t
occupants.
F ig. 2 42 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steering whee l
~fig. 242, the
airbag fo r the p asse nger is at about the same
height in the instr ument pane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
T he knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
the driver's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec­
tion provided by the safety be lts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when the deploymen t
threshold stored in the cont rol un it is me t
~ page 281, More important things to know
about front airbags.
287

Airbag system
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
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 wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do so ¢
page 263, Gener­
al information.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain k inds of accidents - your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
examp le when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is jus t one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The a irbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental knee airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju ­
ries, for example, swe lling, bruising and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inf lates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- T he electronic control module
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas genera-
to r), one for the driver and one for the front
pass enger
- The airbag indicator ligh t in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-whe n the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control un it is too low
- in side collisions
- in rea r-end collisions
288
-in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
ind icator light is on)
¢page 32 .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating
position ¢ page 281 .
-If the airbag indicator light ¢ page 32
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area con be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 243 In flated a irbags protect ing in a fro nta l coll ision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the dr iver and front passen­
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
prope llant gas, and inflate between the lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
¢page 281, fig. 240 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex­
tremities.

All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed . The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy .
Fully inflated airbags in comb ination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant 's forward movement and help to reduce
the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety be lts and airbags
to provide s upplemental protection .
,& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury. Wearing safety bel ts incor rectly and im­
proper seating posit ions increase the r isk o f
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
prope rly if you are seated too close to any of
the a irbag locat ions. When ad justing their
seat positions, it is important that both the
dr iver and the front passenger keep their
upper bod ies a nd knees at the following
min imum safe d istances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- at least 4 inc hes (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
improper ly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the a irbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects
be-
Airb ag sys tem
tween you and the airbag can increase the
risk of injury in an accident by interfering
wit h the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into yo u as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybo dy, especi ally children or
anima ls r ide in the footwell i n front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious o r fatal in juries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foo t­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat . Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, for example) can interfere with or
prevent proper dep loyment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown th rough t he
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
o r your passengers.
- Make sure the re a re no cracks, deep scratch­
es o r othe r damage in the area of the inst ru­
ment panel where the knee airbags a re lo­
ca ted.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury inc reases in a coll is ion
~ page 29 5, Child safe ty.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 2 44 Side a irbag locat ion in the drive r's sea t
The side airbags are located in the s ides of the
front seat
backrests ~ fig. 244 and the rear back­
res t* facing the doo rs.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
pos itions have been des igned and certified to
help reduce the risk of in ju ry that can be caused
by a irbags when they inflate, pa rticul arly when
.,.
289