Driver AUDI A5 2015 Owner´s Manual

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Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety belts are always there to of­
fer protection in those accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have al­ ready deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be
thrown out of the vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig. 126. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It's simply
not true!
Fig. 127 Driver is correct ly restrained in a sudden braking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­ plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­ ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of ti me, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially re­
duce the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident statistics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supplemental airbags to do their job in a col­ lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions, in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged .
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Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident . The belt
may also lo ck when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r::> page 19.
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
r::;, page 160 .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident
r::;, page 125,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injur ed by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r::> page 162.
Safety belts
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 129 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
- height-adjustable front seats .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
r::;, fig . 129 . Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
r::> fig. 129. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r::;, page 123.
125

Safety belts
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 130 Safety belt posit ion during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
¢ page 125.
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint correct­
ly
¢ page 54, Seats and storage .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in an upright posit ion and secure ly latched in
place befo re us ing the be lt .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it evenly
ac ross the chest and pelvis
9fig. 130, ~ _&.
... Inse rt the tongue in to the co rrec t buckle of
you r seat until you he ar it latc h securely
¢ page 124, fig. 128 .
... Pu ll on the be lt to make sure that it is secure ly
l atched in the buck le.
A WARNING
Imprope rly p ositioned safety belts can ca use
ser ious persona l inju ry in an acc ident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the sa fety belt as low as pos­
s ible across t he pelv is and be low the round­
i ng of the abdom en.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and othe r important info rmat ion
~ .&. in Fasten ­
ing saf ety belts on page 125 .
126
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
.,,
Fig . 13 1 Releasing th e tongue from th e buckle
... Push the red release b utton on the buckle
~fig. 131. The be lt tongue will spr ing o ut of
the buck le
~ A .
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety be lt while the vehicle is
moving. Do ing so will increase you r risk of be­
ing inj ured o r killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
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Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause ser i­
ous injury or death. Safety be lts can only work
whe n they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effective­ ness of safety belts and w ill even increase the risk
of i njur y and death by moving the safety belt to
c riti ca l areas of t he body. Imp rope r sea ting pos i­
t ions also increase the risk of se rio us injur y and
death when an airbag dep loys and strikes an oc­
cupant who is not in the correct seating position.
A driver is responsib le for the safety of all vehicle
occupa nts and especially fo r ch ildren. Therefore:
... Never pe rm it anyone to assume an incor rect sit-
ting position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ ,& . ...

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A WARNING ,~
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating pos ition whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r:=;,page 123.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned au­
tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sensors
in front, side and rear-end collisions of great se ­
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack
r::;, .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioneron page
127. Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur­
ing a collision .
(JJ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear­
end collisions, in a rollover and in accidents
involving very little impact force, the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety belt
pretensioners will activate on the driver's or
front passenger's sides only, depending on
which side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti­
vated, a fine dust is released. This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
Safety belts
of the system are scrapped . An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regulations if the vehicle or indi­
vidual parts of the system, particularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have your authorized Audi
dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
--
Improper care, servicing and repair proce-
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once.
If belt pretensioners have
been activated, the system must be re ­
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are required for removal, instal­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
train ing and special equipment necessary.
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Airbag system Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­
er seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
ge rs, befo re drivi ng off, always:
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steer ing wheel
properly
r::> page 113,
.,. Adjust the front passenger 's seat p roperly
9 page 55,
.,. Wea r sa fety be lts prope rly r::> page 123 ,
.. Always properly use the p roper child restra int
to protect children
r::> page 151.
In a coll is io n air bags must infl ate wi thin the b link
of an eye and with cons iderab le force . The s up­
p lemental a irbags can cause injuries if the drive r
or the front seat passenger is not seated p roper ·
Ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is importa nt, both as a dr iver and as a pas­
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protection
in certa in fronta l col lisions
r:> page 113, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
ope rat ion of the seat adjustment cont ro ls
r::> page 55.
It's especially importa nt that children are prope r­
ly rest rained
r:> page 151 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind ividual safety fea­
tures ins talled in your Aud i wo rk together as a
system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that the
fro nt airbag on the dr iver side can do its job . If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition tha t
p reven ts you from sitt ing p roperly on the d river
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
Airbag syste m
reaching the peda ls, specia l mod ificat ions to your
vehicle may be necessa ry .
Co nta ct you r auth orized Aud i de aler, or call Aud i
Cu stome r Re lations at 1-800-822- 2834 .
When the airbag syst em dep loys , a gas gene rato r
will fill the airbags, brea k open the padded cov­
ers , a nd infl ate between the stee ring wheel and
the driver and between the ins trumen t pane l an d
the front passenger. The ai rbags wi ll deflate im­
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc ­
c u pants can see th ro ugh the w indshie ld aga in
without interruption .
All o f th is takes p lace in the b lin k of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have dep loyed . The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be in the ir way when they dep loy. Fron t airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts s low
down and lim it the occupant's forwa rd move­
ment . Togethe r they he lp to p revent the dr iver
and fron t seat passenge r from hi tting parts of
t h e inside the ve hicle while re ducin g the for ces
acting on the occupa nt dur ing the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the ris k of i njury to the
head and uppe r body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the body.
B oth fron t airbags w ill not inf late in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system de ­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the coll is ion and registe red by the e lectronic con ­
trol unit. If t his rate is below the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be t rigge red, even t hough the car may be
badly damaged as a result of t he collis ion . Vehi­
cl e damage, r epai r costs or even the lack of vehi­
cl e damage is no t necessari ly an indica tion of
whethe r an a irb ag should infl ate o r not.
It is not possib le to defin e a range of vehicle
speeds t hat w ill cove r ev ery possib le kind and an­
gle of i mpact tha t will a lways trigger the a irbags,
s in ce the circumst ances w ill vary conside rably be­
tween one collision and anot her. Impo rtant fa c­
tors include, for example, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object w hich the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will .,,.
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Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig . 132 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig . 133 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack
out of the belt system. The pretensioners are also
activated by the electronic control unit for the
airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to he lp reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub
c::> fig . 132 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
~fig. 133. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
Ai rb ag system
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is properly rest rained.
_&. WARNING
--A pe rson on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ildren, will rece ive
se rious inj uries and can even be k illed by be­
i ng too close to the airbag when it inflates.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle 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 r isk" option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a ch ild that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
-Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the fron t seating position.
- For their own safety, all ch ildren, especially
12 years and yo unger, should a lways ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size .
133

Airbag syste m
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
A irbag System in compl iance with Un ited States
F ederal Motor Vehicle Sa fety Standard 208 asap­
plicab le at the time your vehicle was manu fac­
tured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide add itiona l protect ion
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 vehicle de­
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re ­
straint system in your veh icle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe ­
ty belt and weari ng it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be p roper ly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ild ren o n the pas ­
senger side and very small ad ults on the drive r
side . The low risk deployment c riteria a re intend­
ed to he lp red uce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag t hat can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and yo unger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 153, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off if:
- a chi ld 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 restraints listed
i n Federa l Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
134 with which the Advanced Airbag System in you
r
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle 's compliance with the US Safety Standard
c::> page 153,
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat, weighing more than the tota l we ight of
a child that is about
1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System i n your vehicle was certified), the front
a irbag on the passenger s ide may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the elect ron ic cont ro l unit detects a total
weight on the fro nt passenger seat that requires
the front airbag to be tu rned off. If the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the cond it ions stored in its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
on the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For ex ample , the air b ag ma y deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re ­
gardless of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c::, page 153),
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the fron t passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the i nstr ument pane l will come on and stay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) if: .,..

Airbag syste m
detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be­ ing damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag System con sis ts
of the follow ing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the informa tion rece ived from
the crash sensors. The con trol un it also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control va lve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upholste ry
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat. The information registered is sent continuously to
the electronic control un it to regu late dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
r=> page 139.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electron ic co ntro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c>page 139, fig . 135 and tells you when
the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
136 the safety belt
. The tension on the safety be lt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens ­
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front a irbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not c> page 130, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and transm its this info rmat ion to the elect ro ni c
cont ro l unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the fron t passenger seat can pre­
vent the front a irbag from working properly.
- I mproper repa ir or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp obje cts in yo ur pocke ts or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is p unctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­ formation to the airbag contro l unit.
- Never store items under 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 wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­ bag System from recogniz ing ch ild

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restraints or occupants on the front passen­
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
we ight-sensing mat in the seat from accu­
rately registering the child rest raint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- If you must use a child restra int on the front
passenge r seat and the child rest rain t man­
ufac turer's instructions requ ire the use of a
towel, foam c ushion or someth ing e lse to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restra int i n a rear seating position
and have the a irbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the s ide
a irbags supplement the protect ion offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations . Be sure to
read the important information about safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the act ivation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
un it . Crash sever ity depends on speed a nd decel­
e rat ion as well as the mass and st iff ness of the
ve hicle or objec t involved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety belt
use, the a irbag w ill be turned off if the weight on
the passenge r seat is less than the amount pro­
grammed in the electronic con trol un it . The front
Ai rb ag system
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogni zed on the seat .
The
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on
and stays on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
q page 130, Child restraints on the front seat -
some important things to know .
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of inju ry when an airbag i n­
flates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of posi tion in any way,
your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso 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
qpoge 129.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fi g. 1 34 Inflated fro nt a irbags
-.... N 0 :i:
~
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
airbags can unfold properly and provide supple­
mental protection in a frontal coll ision.
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide addi­
tiona l protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- t he seats have bee n positioned so tha t the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag, ..,
137

Airbag syste m
-and the head restraints have been properly ad-
justed .
Because airbags inflate i n the blink of an eye with
g rea t force, things you have on yo ur lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates.
When an a irbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle . This dust is made up most ly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy.
It
could irr itate sk in.
I t is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swel ling, bruising and m inor abra­
sions, can also happen when a irbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags only supplement the
three point safety belts in some fronta l collisions
i n which the veh icle deceleration is h igh enough
to deploy the airbags.
F ront airbags w ill not deplo y:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control un it.
Th e front pas seng er airbag will a lso not
depl oy:
-when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi­
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the e lectronic con­
trol unit (the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG O FF ligh t
comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
r is k of serious injury in crashes .
138
-To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright pos ition, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of thei r body
too close to the area where the a irbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an a irbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye
c:> page 130.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w il l be
seriously inju red and can be killed if the front
ai rbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the chi ld safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the airbag system
inspected by your au thori zed Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of inj ury in a crash by inte rfe r­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing p ushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands o r on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transpor t items on or in the a rea of
the front passenger seat. Objects could move into the area of the front ai rbags dur­
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous project iles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.