seats AUDI A4 SEDAN 2013 Owner's Manual

140 Safet y belts
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjus t the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 54, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c:> .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 135.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an acci dent.
The belt may also lock when yo u drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to t igh ten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w it h a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
mu st be used w hen the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important inf ormation about this
feature
¢ page 175.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 140, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offe r optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and es pe­
ci ally in a cra sh .
- Neve r at tach t he safety be lt to t he buck­
le for an other se at. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 177 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 1 36 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad ­
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- be lt 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 acci­
dent.
- The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body. Ho ld the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pe lvis and there is
no press ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways f it snugly¢
fig. 136 . Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo ­
me n. Make sure the be lt lies flat and
snug
¢ fig . 136. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitt ing safety belt can cause seri­
ous in juries by sh ifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause se rious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure tha t expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
F ig. 137 Safety belt positio n du ring pregnancy
Safety belts 141
To p rovide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body ¢
page 140.
.. Adjust the front seat and head rest rain t cor­
rectly¢
page 54, Seats and storage.
.. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest and pelvis
¢fig. 137, ¢ 11..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il you hear it latch secu re ly
¢page 139, fig. 135 .
.. Pull on the belt to make s ure that it is se­
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause serious persona l injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢.&. in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 140.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 138 Re leasin g the tongue from the buck le
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 138 . The belt tongue w ill spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&_. ..,..

142 Safet y belt s
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
gu ide the belt tongue to its stowed pos ition .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
-
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust ­
men t, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord­
ing to body size .
~ 0 0 6
Fig. 139 Safety be lt he ig ht a dju stme nt for t he front
sea ts - loop -a rou nd fit tings
.. (0
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body
c:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 141 .
• Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig . 139
@ , or
• squeeze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
• Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
.&, WARNING
Alw ays read and heed all WARNINGS and
other impo rtant informat ion
¢ page 139.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust­
ment of the seat can also be used to adjus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
i ncrease the risk of inju ry and death by mov ­
ing the safety be lt to crit ical areas o f the
body. Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­ pant who is not in the cor rect seating posi­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c:> ,&. .
.&, WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occ u­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correc t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by sen­
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes
u p belt slack
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of .,._

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
¢ page 136.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 139, Safety belts .
Airbag system 145
-Always make certain that chi ld ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad ­
just the front seats prope rly.
- Never ride with the backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 127.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in juries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to tra nsport objects. Items can a lso
move i nto the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
_&. WARNING ~
A irbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trai ned
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read t he important information
and head the WARNINGS fo r important de­
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 165. ..,.
•
•

146 Airbag system
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ch ild to ride.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 167.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 155, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
chi ld but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( re gard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r=v page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing upright with their back against a
non-reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 12 7, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury t hroug h interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflat ing passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The air bag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation .

For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 165, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t inst all a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfe re with the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c irc umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Alw ays make sure the forw ard -fac ing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re ­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
A irbag system 147
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint. The
backrest must be adj usted to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed
Q page 155, Monitoring the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG Off light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .
-Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stall ing ch ild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Improper instal lation of ch ild restraints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improper ly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously i njure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact ur­
er 's ins tructions p rov ided with the ch ild
safety seat or carrier . •
•

148 Airbag system
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 140 Locat ion of dr iver airbag: in stee ring wheel
Fig. 141 Loca tion of front pass enger's a irbag: in the in­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depend ing
on the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretensioners are also activated by the electronic contro l unit for the airbag
system. The
front safety belts 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. 140 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 141 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
i s marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
ch apters 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 in­
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protection.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
h icle is properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being 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 under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le situat ions 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
-
.

150 Airbag sys te m
For exa mpl e, the air b ag ma y depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whe ther the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 167),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the cente r
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright wit h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce the risk of inju ry through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the e lectronic control
un it.
¢ page 155
Alw ays remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- f
lates - even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 144.
A WARNING
-A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been instal led on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im ­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen during the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, center
armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward -facing ch ild re ­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll th e rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you m ust
insta ll a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never p ut the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru- ment panel.
~

152 Airbag sys te m
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing ma t and send the
wrong info rmation to the airbag control
uni t.
- Never sto re items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r­
b ag System under the p assenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
the airbag system from wo rking proper ­
ly .
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholste ry that have not been specifical­
ly approved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the A dvanced
Air bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploy ing prop­
erly.
- Never use c ush ions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The add it iona l padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accu rately reg iste ring the c hild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Adva nce d Airb ag System from func tion­
ing properly .
-If you mus t use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re- straint manufacture
r's instructions re­
qu ire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re·
s t raint is installed on the front passen ­
ge r seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on a nd stay on, immed i­
a tely insta ll child restrain t in a rear se at­
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your authorized A udi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide airbags supp lement the protection of­
fered by the front three-poi nt safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters a nd the
adjustable head rest raints to help redu ce the
risk of inj ury in a wide range of accident and
c rash situations. Be s ure to read the impor ­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need A irba g System
and t he activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electron ic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can a lso be adapted
to the front sea t pos ition, depending on the
distance between the respect ive front seat
and the steer ing w heel or instrument panel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se·
verity depends on speed and decelerat ion as
well as the mass and st iffness of t he vehicle
o r object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the ai rbag w ill be tu rned off if the
we ight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the e lectron ic control
u nit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe -
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PAS SENGER AIR .,..

BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned
off
c:> page 145, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
c:> page 144.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 42 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper sea ted pos ition
so that airbags c an u nfo ld properly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenge r when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit io ned so that the
occupant is p roperly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
A irba g sy stem 153
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous projectiles, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . 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 remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
on ly supp lement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
decelera tion is high e no ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front pa sse n ger ai rbag will also not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem ind icates that the front airbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PAS SENGER A IR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r is k of se rious inj ury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air ­
bags inflate, the drive r and passenge rs