airbag AUDI A5 CABRIOLET 2015 User Guide

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For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 60.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in­
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out­
side of the steering wheel rim with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi­
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the driver's airbag deploys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen­
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli­
sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
and head restraints properly and make sure
that all passengers are properly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving . Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
¢page 152. Special precautions ap­
ply when installing a child safety seat on the
front passenger seat¢
page 132.
Driving safety
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
.,. Move the front passenger seat back as far as
possible . There must be a minimum of 10 in­
ches (25 cm) between the breastbone and the
instrument panel¢.&, .
.,. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
.,. Applies to vehicles with adjustable head re­
straints: Adjust the head restraint so the upper
edge is as even as possible with the top of your
head . If that is not possible, try to adjust the
head restraint so that it is as close to this posi­
tion as possible .
.,. Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:> page 127.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see ¢
page 59.
A WARNING ~
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious per­
sonal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po­
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri­
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front passen­
ger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
115

Driving safet y
-Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before driving, a lways adjust the front pas­
senger seat and head restraint properly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in­
strument pane l, out of the window, etc . The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in ­
c reas e the risk of injury in a crash.
- Never dr ive with the backrest recl ined or
t ilted far back! The farther the backrests are
t il te d back, the greater the r isk of injury due
to incorrect pos itioni ng of the safety bel t
and improper se ating posi tion.
- Children m ust always ride i n child safety
seats ¢
page 152. Special preca utions ap­
ply when installing a ch ild safety sea t on the
front passenger seat ¢
page 132.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and b e properly r estrained wh enever the ve­
hicle i s in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow­
ing:
"' Make sure that the seatback is securely latched
in the upright pos ition
¢ page 66 .
"' Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
"' Faste n and wear safety belts prope rly
¢ page 127.
"' Make sure that ch ildren are always properly re­
stra ined in a chi ld restraint that is appropria te
f o r their size and age ¢
page 15 2.
A WARNING
Passengers who a re improperly seated on the
rear se-at can be se riously i njured in a crash .
116
-Each passenger must always sit on a seat o f
their own and proper ly fasten and wea r the
safety belt belong ing to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the seatback is securely latched in the
upright pos ition and the safety belts are
properly positioned on the body. By not sit­
ting upr ight , a rear seat passenger increases
the risk of pe rsonal injury from imprope rly
posi tioned safety belts!
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adjustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor ­
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and can help to redu ce the risk of injuries in
accident si tua tions.
F ig . 1 30 Head res tra in t: v iewed from th e fro nt
T he head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve t he best protection.
"' Adjust the head restraints so the upper edge is
as even as possib le with the top of your head. If
that is not poss ible, try to ad just the head re­
straint so that i t is as close to this position as
possible
c> fig . 130.
Adjust ing head restraints c> page 62.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Driving w ithout head rest raints or with head
restra ints that a re not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serio us or fatal nec k inju ry
d ramatically. To help reduce the r isk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restra ints in
place and properly a djusted.
-

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-Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adj usted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly ad justs their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraints so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of your head.
If that is not possib le, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le.
- Never attempt to adjust head rest raint
wh ile driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the dr iver head rest for any rea­
son, first stop the veh icle safely before at­
tempting to ad just the head rest raint.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate fo r
their age and size
q poge 152.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
seated.
Improper seating posit ions can cause serious in­
jury o r death . Safety be lts can only work when
they are prope rly positioned on the body. Im­
p roper seating posit ions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and wi ll even increase the risk of
in ju ry and death by moving the safety belt to cr it­
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys a nd strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position . A driver
i s responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especia lly for children. Therefore:
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos it ion when the veh icle is being used
~ & -
The follow ing bulletins list only some sample po­
sitions that will increase the risk of ser ious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples w ill
make you mor e aware of seat ing pos itions that
are dangerous.
The refore, whene ver the vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
Dr ivin g s afet y
-neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w it h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- neve r put your feet on the instr ument pane l
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cush ion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imp roper seating posit ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a prope r seating position and are
properly rest rained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
App lies to vehicles : wit h knee airbags
A WARNING ,-.=-
Always make sure that the knee airbag can in-
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by be ing pushed in­
to you as the ai rbag deploys .
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag deploys, th is can result in
serious or fatal injur ies.
- No objects of any kind should be ca rried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or prevent
p roper deployment o f the a irbag . Small ob ­
jects can be thrown through the vehicle if
117

Driving safety
the airbag deploys and injure you or your passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that nothing prevents them from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
a nd can be secured with floor mat fasteners .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav­
el is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
_&. WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri­
ous injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere with pedal function . In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fa ll or
move into the dr iver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
.,. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se-
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals ~.&_ .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of position. You can obtain
suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi
dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
118
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor
mats will prevent them from sliding into posi­
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
_&. WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­
erly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the ped­
als or the ability to control the vehicle.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Addit ional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is moving. Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and acce lerator pedal caus­
ing a loss of vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
Al/ luggage and other objects must be properly stowed and secured in the luggage compart­
ment .
Fig. 131 Safe load positioning: place heavy ob jects as low
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and as far fo rward as possible. ...

Safety belts
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection . A irbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in orde r to min imize the risk of seve re in­
jury o r death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety be lts are a lways there to of ­
fer protection in t hose accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
ready deployed . Unbelted o ccupan ts can also be
thrown ou t of the vehicle where even mo re severe
or fata l injur ies can occur .
It is also important fo r the rea r passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbe lted passenge rs
i n t he rear se ats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
~ fig . 140. In a frontal coll ision they wi ll be
thrown forward violent ly, where they can hit and
in ju re 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!
F ig . 141 D river is correct ly rest ra ined i n a sudden b rak ing
m aneuver
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 he lp prevent
the uncont ro lled movement that can cause seri ­
ous injur ies. In add it ion, safety belts reduce the
danger of being throw n ou t of the vehicle.
126
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "softly" through t he "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features eng i­
neered into today's veh icles. By "absorbing" the
ki net ic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety be lts make the forces on the body more
"tole rable" and less li kely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based o n a frontal
collision, safety be lts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk o f injury in other kinds o f crashes.
So, whether you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t he cor ne r store, always bu ckle up and ma ke sure
o thers do, too. Ac ciden t sta tis tics show that ve hi­
cle occupants properly wearing sa fe ty belts have
a lowe r risk of be ing injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Pro perly using
safety belts a lso greatly increases the ab ility of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wear ing a safety be lt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front airbags, for example, are act ivated only in some
fron tal coll is io ns . The front airbags are not act i­
vated in a ll frontal col lisions, in s ide and rear co l­
li sio ns, in ro ll overs o r in cases whe re the re is not
eno ugh deceler ation th rough imp act to the front
of the vehicle . T he same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
proper ly 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 s ure that your safety belts are always
ready fo r use and are not damaged .

Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red relea se
button only after the vehicle has stopped .


Fig. 146 Re le as ing th e to ngu e fr om th e buck le
.. Push the red re lease button on the b uck le
Q fig. 146 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buckle
Q ,& .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retr actor as you
guide the bel t tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh icle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
a
~ 0 :i: .. 0J
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safe ty belts can only work
when they are correctly posit ioned on the body .
Improper seating pos it ions reduce the effective­
ness of safety belts and will even inc rease the risk
of injury and death by moving the safety be lt to
cr itica l areas of the body . Improper seati ng posi­
tions a lso increase the risk of serious injury and
death when an airbag deploys and strikes an oc­
cupant who is not in the correct seating position.
A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and espec ially for children. Therefore :
.. Never perm it anyone to ass ume an incorrect sit -
ting position in the vehicle while traveling
Q A .
130
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the r isk
of ser ious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
Q page 126 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular sev erity, saf ety belts are tensioned au­
tomatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pre tensioners. The system is act ivated by sensors
in front, side and rear-end collisions o f great se ­
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
s lack
¢ .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 131.
Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupan t movement dur­
i ng a collision .
@ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear­
end co llisions and in accidents involving
very little impact force, the safety belt pre­
tensioner are not activated.
- 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 re levant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop is familiar
with these regulations a nd will be pleased
to pass on the information to yo u. ...

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-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 cor rectly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
syst em will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
_&. 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,
training and special equipment necessary.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Material
- special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
Safety belts
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you .
131

Airbag system
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.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, befo re driving off, always:
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
Q page 114,
"' Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
Qpage 60,
"'Wear safety be lts properly C? page 126,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
Qpage 152.
In a coll is ion airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerab le force. The sup­
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper•
Ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas­
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions
c> page 114, Correct
passenger seating positions.
Fo r details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
c>page 60.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
Qpage 152.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seat ing position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a phys ical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitt ing properly on the dr iver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
132
reaching the pedals, specia l modifications to your
vehicle may be necessary.
Contact your authorized Audi deale r, or call Audi
Customer Relat ions at 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag system dep loys , a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags wi ll deflate im ­
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the w indshield again
without interruption.
All o f this takes place in the blink o f 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 their way when they deploy. Front a irbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forwa rd move­
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenge r from hitting parts of
the insid e the veh icle wh ile reduc ing the forces
acting on the occupant dur ing the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk o f injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de ­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con ­
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the coll is ion . Vehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessar ily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and an­
gle of impact that will always trigger the air bags,
since the circumstances will vary conside rably be­
tween one collision and another. Impo rtant fac­
tors 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
IJ>-

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also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll­
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 124.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r in­
strument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
<=> page 12 7, Safety belts .
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always r ide in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may
be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly.
-
Airbag syste m
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel o r the instrument panel
c::> page 114.
- Always sit up right 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 floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­
bag d uring braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
p rojectiles and ca use in jury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t have deployed i n a crash mus t be
r eplaced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap ­
p rove d by Aud i an d in stalled by a trained
technici an who has the ne cessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read the important information and
head the WARNI NGS for important details
about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
c::> page 152.
Even though your veh icle is equipped wit h an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll chil­
dren, especially those 12 years a nd you nger, a l­
ways ride in the bac k seat properly restrained fo r
the ir age and size. The airbag on the passenger
s ide makes the front seat a potent ia lly dangerous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
sa fest p lace for a child in a forward-facing ch ild ..,.
133

Airbag system
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 ce rtified to comp ly w ith the Requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehi ­
cle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat. Fo r a listing
of the ch ild restraints that were used to certify
comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 154.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electron ic control unit.
E ach t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER 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 re­
stra int on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight­
sensing mat¢
page 142, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced 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 requ ires the front
ai rbag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
ai rbag 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
134
control unit and can dep loy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re­
ga rdl ess of whethe r the child is in one of the
child safe ty seats listed¢
page 154), or
- a child who has outgrow n chi ld 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
instr ument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a sma ll adult
o r teenager, or a passenger who is not sitt ing up­
r ight w ith their back against a non-reclined back­
rest with their feet on the vehicle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
¢ page 114, Proper seating position for the driv­
er .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in­
ju ry through interaction with the airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control unit ¢
page 142, PASSEN­
GER 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 position by the rapidly inflat­
i ng passenger's airbag in a frontal collision . The
airbag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
For th is reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children - when prope rly restra in­
ed accord ing to their age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢
page 152, Child safety. ..,.