light AUDI A5 COUPE 2013 Repair Manual

.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
¢page 53,
Seats and storage.
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts properly¢
page 134 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
tion of the vehicle , the driver as well as the
driver's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted .
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
vehicle and all of its occupants. If your ability
to drive is impaired, safety r isks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you a lso become a
hazard to everyone else on the road
~ .&_.
Therefo re:
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passen­
gers or by using a cellular telephone .
.. NEVE R drive when yo ur driv ing ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic
and weather conditions .
.,. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under
pressure or when you are stressed .
& WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a vehicle is being used.
Driving Safely 125
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 127 Correct seat ing pos it ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
follow ing pos ition:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
wh ile keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢&_ .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upr ight position so that your back
comes in full contact w ith it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and yo ur breast
bone
~ fig. 12 7. If not possible, see your au­
thorized Audi dealer about adaptive equip­
ment.
.. Adjust the steer ing wheel so that the steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face .
.,. Grasp the top of the steering whee l with
your elbow(s) slightly bent .
.. App lies to vehicles with adjustable head re­
s tra ints: Ad just the head restraint so the up­
per 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 pos it ion as possible .
.. Fasten and wear safety be lts correctly
¢ page 13 7 . .,._

134 Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly .
.. Read a ll the information that fo llows and
heed all of the instruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means avai lab le to reduce the risk of se­
r ious injury and dea th in a utomob ile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrectly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- P regnant women, injured, or physically
im paired perso ns mu st also use safety
bel ts. Lik e all veh icle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser iously injured if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions: two in the front and two in the rear. Each seat­
ing position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or weari ng them
improp erly increases th e risk of ser ious
pe rsonal i njury and dea th.
- N ever st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl uding small ch ild ren, into any belt.
It is
e speci ally dange rous to pla ce a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in the ve hicl e
than there are s afe ty be lts avail able. -
Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safe ­
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the
driver and (on USA models only) front seat
passenger to remind you about the impor­
tance of buckling-up .
Fi g. 130 Safety belt warni ng lig ht in the instrument
cluster -en larged
Before driving off, always :
.. Fasten you r safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
.. Make s ure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
.. Protect your children w ith a child rest raint
system approp riate fo r the size and age of
t he children.
The . war ning light in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a
rem inder to faste n the safety belts. In addi­
t ion, you will hea r a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime.
Fasten your safety b elt now and make sure
that your pas sengers also properly put on
their safety belts.

138 Safet 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 53, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c:> .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 136.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an ac cident.
The belt may also lock when yo u drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pret ensioners
The sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac ­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
mu st be used w hen the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
¢ page 176.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 138, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
ci ally in a crash .
- Neve r attach the safety be lt to t he buck­
le for ano ther sea t. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 178.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 1 3 7 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad ­
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- he ight-adjustable front seats.

144 Airbag sys tem
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equip ped with an
Advanced Airbag System , make certain that
a ll c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younge r, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a ch ild to r ide.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a fo rward-facing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for a n infant or
a child in a rea rward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comp ly with the Requ ire­
men ts of Uni ted Sta tes Federa l Mo tor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing o r for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts t hat we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 168.
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 BA G OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll 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 153, 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 requ ires the
fro nt 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
c hil d but less than the weight o f a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on , the
front a irbag on the passeng er side has not
been turned off by the elec troni c con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memo ry .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is i n one of
t he child safety seats listed
r=v page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenge r 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 s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- recl ined ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle f loor i n front of the sea t is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 125 , Proper seating
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
t h e risk of injury t hrough interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 153, 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 fronta l
collision . T he a irbag could great ly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restra int and even
seriously injure t he ch ild dur ing 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 166, 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 145
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 153, 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 147
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 168 , 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 168,
-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). ..,. •
•

148 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 168),
-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 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 153
Alw ays re member : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- f
lates - even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 142.
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
vehicle.
- 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 install t he 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 put 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 149
-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 153 .
-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 153, fig . 143 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
r:!;> pag e 143, 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.
-
•
•

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

BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned
off
c:> page 143, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in·
flates · even with an Advanced Airbag
c:>page 142.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 42 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper sea ted pos ition
so that airbags c an u nfo ld properly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protection for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the front seat passenge r when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit io ned so that the
occupant is p roperly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
A irba g sy stem 151
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous projectiles, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the ve hicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irr itate skin .
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruis ing and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
on ly supp lement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
decelera tion is high e no ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front pa sse n ger ai rbag will also not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys·
tern ind icates that the front airbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PAS SENGER A IR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r is k of se rious inj ury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air ­
bags inflate, the drive r and passenge rs