belt AUDI A5 COUPE 2012 Owner's Manual

158 S afet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 61, General recommenda­
t ions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢ ,&.
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢ ,& .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latc h securely
¢fig. 171.
.,. Pu ll on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retracto r on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and i n an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or throug h a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pre ­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning lig ht
Q page 15.
Sw itchable locking feature
Every sa fety belt except the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safe ty seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature ¢
page 195.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
¢ page 1 58, Safety bel t position.
- Saf ety belts offe r optimum pro tection
only when the seatba ck is upright and be
lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ck rest dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
ci ally in a crash.
- Neve r attach the safety belt to t he buck­
le for ano ther sea t. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afety be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle ¢
page 19 7.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 1 72 Head res tra in t an d safety be lt pos it ion as
see n from t he s ide
Standard features on your vehicle he lp you ad ­
just the position of the safety be lt to match
yo ur body s ize.
- he ight -adjus table fron t seats.

_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- The shoulder belt po rtion of the safety
belt must be pos it ioned over the m iddle
of the occupant's shoulder and neve r
across the neck or throat.
- The safety belt must lie flat and snug on
the occupant's upper body¢
fig. 172.
Pull on t he belt to t ighten if necessa ry.
- The lap belt port ion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pe lvis and never ove r the abdo­
men. Ma ke s ure the be lt lies fla t and
snug¢
fig. 172 . Pull on the belt to tight ­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause ser i­
o us injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 157.
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 preg­
nancy .
Fig. 173 Safety belt positio n during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correct ly on the
wearer's body
¢ poge 158 .
Safety belts 159
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 61, General recommenda­
tions.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt .
.. Hold the belt by t he tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest a nd pelv is
¢ fig. 173, ¢ .&_.
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buc kle of
your seat unti l you hear it latch secu rely
Qpoge 157, fig . 171 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buck le.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious personal injury in an acc i­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other impo rtant information¢ .&.
in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 158.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
F ig . 1 74 Releas ing the tongue from the buck le
.. Push the red release b utton on the buckle
Q fig. 174. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
.&_.
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position . .,.

160 Safety belts
_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i­
cle is moving . Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wear ing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious in jury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correct ly positioned on
the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and will even
increase the risk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety belt to critical areas of the
body. Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and str ikes an occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi­
tion . A driver is responsib le for the safety of
a ll vehicle occupants and especially for chi l­
dren. Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
Q 8_ .
_& 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 occu-
pants are correct ly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
Qpage 157.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned
automatically.
T he safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sen­
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes
up belt slack
Q & in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 161.
Taking
up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
([) Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat­
back that has been fo lded forward.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated 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 veh icle
the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
act ivated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requ irements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped. An au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop is familiar with these regulations
and wi ll be pleased to pass on the infor­
mation to you.

-Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system, par­
ticularly 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
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, remov­ ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretens ioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated on ly once. If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety be lt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re­ pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary .
Safety belts 161
@:) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www. dtsc. ca.gov/hazard o u swa ste/ per-
ch lo rate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety be lts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
•
•

162 Airbag sys tem
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, a lways:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 145,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 62,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 15 7,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 186.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental p rotec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions¢
page 145,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con­
trols ¢
page 63.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 186.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to­
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , spec ial
modifications to your vehicle may be necessa­
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener­
ator will f ill the ai rbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inf late between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru ­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
th rough the w indshield aga in without inter­
ruption .
All of th is take s place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a g reat dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
F ront a irbags in combination with properly
worn safety bel ts slow down and lim it the oc ­
c u pant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve­
hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and uppe r body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front a irbags w ill not i nflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t rigge ring of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
c aused by the co llision and reg istered by the
elect ron ic cont ro l u nit. If t his rate is below
the re ference value programmed into the con­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the collision . Veh icle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and .,.

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
¢ page 154.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 157, Safety belts .
Airbag system 163
-Always make certain that chi ld ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad ­
just the front seats prope rly.
- Never ride with the backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 145.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in juries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to tra nsport objects. Items can a lso
move i nto the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
_&. WARNING ~
A irbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trai ned
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
place any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read t he important information
and head the WARNINGS fo r important de­
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 186. ..,.
•
•

166 Airbag system
-Never place additiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
F ig . 175 Location of driver airbag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 176 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FM VSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicl e was manufac tured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending
on the distance between the respect ive seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that he lp to take slack out of the belt
system . The pretensioners a re also activated
by the electron ic cont ro l unit for the ai rbag
system. T
he front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
i n a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub¢
fig. 175 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 176. The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you need to know about the ai r­
bags 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 th e owner's literature.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren.
_&. WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotection.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s upplement al pro te ctio n.
- Airbag work most effect ive ly when used
with p roperly wor n safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safety belts
a nd make sure tha t eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is properly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cial ly infa nts and sm all ch ildren, w ill re­
ceive serio us inju ries and can even be kil­
l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although t he Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passe nger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le sit uat ions that may happen dur ing
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
i n acco rdance with the "low risk" option
unde r the U.S . Feder al Standa rd if a child
th at is heav ie r than the typical one -year
-
.

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 167
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 188 , 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 188,
-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). ..,. •
•

168 Airbag sys tem
For exa mple , the ai rb 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 188),
-a ch ild who has outg rown 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 ill uminate 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 passenge r airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce the risk of inj ury 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 173
Alw ays remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll 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 162.
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 c hild
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 c hild
safety sea t 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 installing
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
on.
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-sensing 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 169
-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 173 .
-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
q page 1 73, fig . 178 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-sensing 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 163, 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.
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