child restraint AUDI A5 CABRIOLET 2014 User Guide

142 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 163.
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 150, 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 163), 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 122, 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 151, 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 161, 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 143
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 150, 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 . •
•

old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­ cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways 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
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the ai rbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up­ right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low risk" re ­
quirements for 3 and 6 year-old children on
the passenger side and very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in­
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occur , for example , by being too
close to the steering wheel and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "suppression" requirements
Airbag system 145
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
¢ page 163 , Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ pliance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 163,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re­
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen­ ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re­
quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old ,
but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on). ..,. •
•

146 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 163),
-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 150
Alw ays re memb er: Even tho ugh 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 140.
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.
~

-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
o n.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack ­
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 147
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 150 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in­
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de­
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
<:!;> page 151, fig . 153 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
<=;> pag e 141, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

148 Airbag system
-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
driver seat from the vehicle .
- 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-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas·
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re- straint manufacturer's instructions
re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re·
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASSENGER 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
¢ page 141, Child restraints on the front sea t
- some important things to know . ...,.

whenever the ignition is on. Each time yo u
turn on the ignition, the
fl airbag monitoring
indicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system mu st be in spected wh en the
II indicat or light:
- does not come on w hen the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on whi le driving .
I f an a irbag system malf unct ion is de tected,
the ind icator light will firs t start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunc tion oc curs that turns the fron t
ai rbag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght wi ll come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by yo ur authorized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 153 Sect ion fro m the instr umen t pane l: PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF light
-
A irba g sy stem 151
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pa ne l
¢ fig. 153 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
time you turn on the ignit ion, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small chi ld or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
T he
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the fron t
se at, or
- a rearwa rd-facing child restra in t has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, o r
- a forward-fac ing c hild restra int has been in­
s talled on the fron t passenger seat, or
- t he we ight reg istered on the front passen­
ge r seat is equal to or less t han the com­
bi ned weight o f a typic al 1 year-o ld restr ain­
ed in one of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will stay on. Nev ­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a child in any k ind of child restrai nt is at one
of the seating posit ions on the rear seat
¢ page 141, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 161, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regu larly to
IJi,,-

152 Airbag sys te m
make certain that the PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuous ly whenever the
ignit ion is on. If the
PASS ENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed around the child restraint as descr i­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety belt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that t he
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job ¢
page 171.
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen ­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the we ight-sensing mat to measure
more we ight than is actua lly on the seat.
If the PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light st ill
doe s not come o n
and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the chi ld restraint off the front passen -
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos itions . Have the a irbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer
immediately .
- move the ch ild to a rear seat pos it io n and
make sure that the child is properly restrain­
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
i ts size and age. The
PA
SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 122, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the fron t passenger door or support­
ing thei r weight on the armrest,
- t he safety belt is being properly wo rn and
t hat there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions o r othe r
t hings tha t may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the center o f the instrument panel,
t h e message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear
in the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
¢ page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer .
It is
-

Although they a re not a soft pillow, they can
cushion the impact and in this way they can he lp to reduce the r isk of injury to the lower
extremities.
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 w ith a great deal of force and it is im­
portant for occupant safety that noth ing
should be in the ir way when they deploy .
Fu lly inflated airbags in comb ination with
properly worn safety belts slow down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movement and help
to reduce the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Appl ies to vehicles : wit h kn ee a irbags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways 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 belts and
ai rbags to provide supp lemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious
injury. Wear ing safe ty belts inco rrec tly and
improper seating posi tions increase the
risk o f serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- The knee airbag system cannot protect yo u properly if you are seated too close
to any o f the airbag locations. When ad­
just ing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the drive r and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the follow ing min imum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instr u­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the inst ru­
ment panel.
A irbag system 157
-The risk of personal in jury increases if
you lean forward or to the s ide, or if the
seat is improperly positioned and you are
not wearing you r safety belt . The risk i n­
creases even more should the ai rbag de­
ploy .
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag
can inflate without inte rfe rence . Objects
between yo u and the airbag can inc rease
the risk of inj ury in an ac cident by inte r­
fering w ith the w ay the a irb ag deploys or
by being p ushed into you as the airbag
deploys.
- Never let anybody, especia lly children
o r anima ls ride in the footwell in front
of the passenge r seat . If the airbag de­
ploys, th is can result in serious o r fa tal
i njur ies.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
pas senger 's sea t. Bulky objects (sho p­
p ing bags, fo r example) can interfe re
with o r prevent proper deployment of
the ai rbag . Small objects can be
thrown thro ugh the veh icle if the air­
bag deploys and injure yo u or your pas ­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument panel where the knee air­
bags are located .
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their
risk of injury increases in a collision
~ page 161, Child Safety .
•
•

- in rollovers.
I n some types of acc idents the front airbags
and side ai rbags may be t rigge red togethe r.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and t he a irbag sys tem will
only provide protection when occupan ts
are in the p roper seating posit ion
¢ page 159.
-If the airbag indicato r light c::> page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Aud i dea ler. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
How supplemental side airbags work
.
Side airbags deploy ins tan tly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu ­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 15 7 Infla ted s ide a irbag s on left s ide of ve hicle
When the system is trigge red , the airbag is
fi lled w ith p ropel lant gas and breaks thro ugh
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG" . It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In orde r to help provide
t his additional protection, the side a irbag
must inf late within a fraction of a second at
very high speed a nd with great force . The sup ­
p lemental side a irbag could injure you if your
seating position is not p roper or upr ight or if
items are located in the area where the sup ­
p lemental side a irbag expands . T his app lies
especia lly to children
c::> page 161, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door pane l on the side
A irba g sy stem 159
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col ­
lision
c::> fig . 157 .
Although they are no t a soft pillow , they can
"cushion" the impa ct and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
part of the body .
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys . T his is normal and does no t mean there
is a fire in the vehicle.
Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al ­
ways properly wear safety belts and r ide in a
proper sea ting position.
T here is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accord ingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do the ir job to pro­
vide supplemental protect ion.
A WARNING ,-
An inflat ing s ide a irbag can cause se rious
or fata l injury . Improperly wearing safety
belts and imp roper seat ing pos itions in­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- I n o rder to red uce the risk of i nju ry when
the s upplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and never lean against the area where the
suppleme nta l side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest
their head aga inst the s ide trim pane l
i n the area where the supplementa l
s ide a irbag inflates .
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone s itting in the front
seat put t he ir hand or any ot her parts
of their body out of the window .
- Always make su re t hat the side a irbag
can inflate without interfe rence .