light AUDI A6 2012 Manual Online

134 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles.
Fig. 134 Unbe lted occupants in a vehicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 135 Th e vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this veh icle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 134, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 135.
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was t ravell ing just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 136 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown fo rwa rd
Fig . 137 A rear passe nge r not wearing a safety belt
will fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of i mpac t by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained
ll-

To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly
c::> page SO, 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
c::> ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::>fig. 139.
... Pull on t he be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated
c::> page 140. The function of the pre­
tensioner is mon itored by a warning light
c::> page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
c::> page 179 .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
c::> page 13 7, Safety belt position.
Safety belts 13 7
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is secu rely latched
whenever the rear cente r safety belt is
being used. If the backrest is not secu re­
ly latched, the passenger will move fo r­
ward with the backrest during s udden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the veh icle
c::> page 181.
(!} Tips
For information on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to
c::> page 140 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 140 Head restra int and safety be lt pos itio n as
see n fr om the side

144 Airbag sys tem
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in forma tion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 168.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
res tra ined for their age and si ze. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-faci ng chi ld sea t.
It can be a
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a c hild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a c hild up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
c> page 170.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system fo r the fro nt passenger seat equa
ls the combined capacitance of an in ­
fant up to about one year of age and one of the rearwa rd- facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . For a listing of the ch ild restraints
that w ere used to certify you r vehicle 's com­
plia nce w it h t he U.S. Safety Standard
i=> page 170 .
-w ill stay on if the re is a small c hild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
p acitive passenge r de te ction system
c> page 154, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n elec trica l capacitance regis tered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than
t h e comb ined ca pacitance of a typical 1 year ­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder ­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System i n your ve­
hicle was cert ified .
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-o ld child but less than the
we ight of a small adu lt, the front airbag on
the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does
not come on , the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec­
t ron ic cont ro l unit and can deploy if th e con­
t ro l u nit se nses an impa ct that mee ts the con­
di tions s to red in its memory.
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
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of
the ch ild seats listed
c::;, page 170), o r
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenger seat . ..,.

If the fron t passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OF F light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control un it
c::> page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a child seat or infant carri ­
er installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rap idly in ­
flating passenger's a irbag i n a frontal colli­
sion . The airbag could greatly reduce the ef­
fectiveness of t he ch ild restraint and even se­
r io usly inju re the child d uring inflat io n.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for chi ldren - when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
c::> page 168, Child Safety .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does no t come on an d stay on, immedi­
at ely install the rear-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A irbag system 145
-Forwa rd-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the airbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacture r for use on a front seat
wit h a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re­
s tra int up agains t or ve ry near the instru­
men t panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the se at's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . 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 whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenev er a child re­
straint is insta lled on the fro nt passenge r
se at and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, perform the checks de­
scribed
c::> page 154, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T ake the chi ld restraint off t he fron t pas­
senger sea t and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions i f the
PASS EN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler immediately.
•
•

148 Airbag system
-The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the .,low risk" option
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the U.S . Federal Standard if a child with elec­
trical capacitance greater than the com­ bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restrained in one of the for­
ward facing or rearward-facing child
seats with which your vehicle was certi­
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy­ ment 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 airbag 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.
The 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
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
c::> page 170, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system.
"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
i=>page 170,
-When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat that has an electrical capaci­
tance that is more than the total electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward -facing infant restraints (listed in
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle was certified) , the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de­
ploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal electrical capacitance on the front passen­ ger seat that requires 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 condi -
tions stored in its memory. ..,_

If the total electrical capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSEN ­
G ER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on) .
For example, th e air bag m ay 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 whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
¢ page 170),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
d uce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it
o page 154 .
Alwa ys rem ember: Even though your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
place 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, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld 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
¢ page 142 .
Airbag system 149
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously inju red and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even w ith 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 res traint has been installe d on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately in sta ll the rear-fa cing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING ,-
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install 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 airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . Th e •
-
•

150 Airbag sys te m
backrest must be adjusted to an uprigh t
posit ion.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a
person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on t he
seat. The presence of additiona l objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on w hen it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in you r veh icle has a
l ot of very important pa rts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it . These parts include the
capacitive passenge r de tect ion sys tem, wir­
ing, brac kets, and more . The cont ro l uni t
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ignition is switc hed on and
turns the airbag indicato r light on when a
malfunction in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected
c::;, page 155 . Because the
fro nt passenge r seat contains important pa rts
of the Advanced Airbag System , you must
take ca re to p revent it from being damaged.
Da mage to the seat may preven t the Ad­
vanced A irb ag System for the fron t passenger
seat from doing i ts job in a c rash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front o f the veh icle tha t
measure veh icle acceleration/dece le ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash. -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and sid e impacts .
T he control un it "decides" whether to fire
the front a irbags based on the inform at ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steer­
ing wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve inside the inst rument panel for
the front passenger .
- A capacit ive passenger detection system u n­
de rneath the front passenger seat cover .
This system measures the elec trical capac i­
t ance of the perso n in t he seat. The informa ­
t ion regis tered is se nt cont inuo usly to the
electronic con trol un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instr ument cluster
c::;, page 154.
- A senso r in each front seat regis ters the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The in ­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l uni t to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adv a need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel
c::;, page 155, fig . 147 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been t urned off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and fo r the front seat passenger that
senses w hether t hat safety belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
elec tronic con trol un it.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
p roperly.
- Imp roper repai r or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
-

-Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or put them on the seat. The capacitive
passenger detection mat in the front
passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the front passenger seat.
Such objects can influence the capaci ­
tance registered by the capacitive pas­ senger detection system, so that incor­
rect information is provided to the airbag
control unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat , never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional layers prevent the
capacitive passenger detection system
from accurately measuring the capaci­
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad-
Airbag system 151
vanced Airbag System from working
properly .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga ­
rette lighter socket. Such devices can in­
fluence the capacitance registered by the
capacitive passenger detection system,
so that incorrect information is provided
to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re ­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
immediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger
seat, this can keep the airbag system
from working properly and may, for in­ stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on together with the airbag indicator light
rl in the instrument cluster .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
not soaked in, this may also keep the air­
bag system from working properly and
cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
enabled (turned on), even though there is a properly installed child restraint sys­
tem on the seat . Wet towels or other wet
things on the seat cushion can have the
•
•

152 Airbag system
same effect . If the front passenger
frontal a irbag is turned on, the
PA SSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side a irbags supplement the protect ion of­
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
ad justab le head restraints to he lp red uce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activation of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the dece lerat ion measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control un it . The amount of infla ­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front seat position, depend ing on the
d istance between the respective front seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel as registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object invo lved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fro nta l airbag
will be turned off if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron·
i c control unit . The front passenger frontal air­
bag will also be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r sea t equa ls tha t of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age in one of the child sea ts tha t was
used to certify the Advanced Airbag System
u nder Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . T he
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ger s ide has been turned off
c> page 155 .
A WARNING
-To reduce the risk of injury w hen an a irbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts properly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much h igher .
- You will a lso receive se rious injuries and
could even be killed if you a re up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in­
flates - even w ith an Advanced A irb ag
<=> page 142 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig . 14 6 Inflated fro nt a irbags
Safety belts a re important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold properly and pro­
v ide s upplementa l pro te cti on in a fron tal col­
li sion .
T he front airbags are des igned to provide ad­
ditional p rotection fo r the chest and face of
the driver a nd the front seat passenger w hen:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have bee n positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adj usted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat cou ld become dan ­
gerous projecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inflates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a f ire in ..,.

the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate skin .
It is importan t to remember that while the
supplemental airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries , other
in ju ries, for example swell ing, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front airbags
supplement the three-poi nt safety belts only
i n some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
decelerat ion is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
Th e front pa sseng er airbag al so will not
d e plo y:
-when the front passenger seat is not occu ­
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electronic control unit (the
P ASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
¢ page 155 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when the air ­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must a lways sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
A irbag system 153
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
¢page 144.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, doo r or
roof.
- Always install rear -facing chi ld seats on
the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the r isk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the ai rbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed into you as the airbag
inflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands o r on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on or in the a rea
of the front passenger seat. Objects
co uld move into the area of the front air ­
bags during braking or other sudden ma ­
neuvers and become dangero us projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in­
jury if the a irbags inf late.
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