belt AUDI A6 2013 Owner's Guide

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.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 12 7,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 51,
"" Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 139,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren ¢
page 171.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Th erefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenger to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions ¢
page 12 7,
Proper occupant seating positions. For details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
¢ page 51.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 171.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
Airbag system 145
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re­
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi­
fications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener ­
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad­
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the driver and between the instru­
ment pane l and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter­ ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc­
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference 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 result of the collision . Ve hicl e damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not . .,. •
•

146 Airbag sys te m
Since the cir cumstances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and anot her, it is not
possib le to def ine a range of vehicle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat will always trigger the airbags.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Always rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in k inds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when your ve­
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af­
ter the first co llision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi­
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effect ively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 136.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will dec rease the effec­
t iveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the s teer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag. -
To reduce the risk of injury when an a ir­
bag inflates, always wear safety be lts
properly ¢
page 139, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an
airbag inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 127.
-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 floor in front of the seat to
help prevent serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects , Items can a lso
move into the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects nea r the air ­
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING ~
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle.

-Always carefully follow instru ctions from
c hild restraint manufacturers when in­
sta lling child restraints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier .
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
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 person actually sitting on the
seat. The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the
seat .
Airbag system 149
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig. 156 Loc ation of driver airbag: in steering w heel
Fig. 157 Loc ation of front passenger's a irbag: in the in·
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending
on the distance between the respective seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that help to take slack out of the belt
system. The pretens ioners are also activated
by the electronic control unit for the airbag
system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
q fig. 156 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel

150 Airbag system
~fig. 157. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­ 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 the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3 :00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk
of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag deploys and cause serious personal
in­
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or near or attach them to the area marked
,,A IRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
~

-The Advanced Ai rbag System can deploy
in accordance wi th the .,low risk" opt ion
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Federal Standard if a chi ld w ith elec­
trical capac itance greater than the com­
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infan t restra ined in one of the for­
wa rd fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which you r vehicle was cer ti­
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy­ ment are met.
- Accident statist ics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safe r in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 yea rs and younger, sho uld al­
ways ride in the back properly rest rained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w it h a front Advanced
A irbag System in compliance with U nited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide add it ional
p rotection fo r th e driver's and front passeng­
e r' s heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags in flate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat ion is high enough .
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
fro nt sea t occ upants is no t a subs titu te for
your safety bel ts. Ra ther, it is p art of t he over­
all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect yo u, if you are s itting up­
right, wearing yo ur 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 veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low r isk" re­
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenge r side and very small adu lts on
A irbag system 15 1
the driver side . The low risk deployment c rit e­
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in­
ju ry 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 add ition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are rest rained on the fro nt passenger
seat in child rest raints that ar e listed in the
Standard
¢ page 173, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system.
"Suppress ion " requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat i n one
of the rear-fac ing o r forward-facing infant
restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standa rd 208 wi th wh ich the Ad­
vanced Ai rbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. For a listing o f the chi ld res traints
t ha t were used to certify your vehicle's com ­
pliance wit h the US Safety Standa rd
¢ page 173,
-When a person is detected o n the front pas ­
senger seat that has an e lectrical capaci­
tance that is more t han the tota l electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing o r
forwa rd -facing infant restraints ( listed in
Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advan ced A irbag System in
your veh icle was certi fied), the front air bag
on the passenger side m ay or m ay no t de­
p loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
whe n the elect ro ni c con trol unit de te cts a to ­
t al elec trical c apac itance on the front passen­
ger seat that requi res the fron t 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 se nses an impact that meets the condi -
t ions stored in its memo ry .
IJJ,,
•
•

152 Airbag sys te m
If the tota l electrical capacitance registe red
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 a irbag on
the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSE N­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy 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 173),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG 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 airbag 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
¢ page 157.
Alw ays 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.
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries 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 145.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
van ced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh 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 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 ch ild 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
a tely insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING ,..___
If, in except iona l circumstances, you m ust
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 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 pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
-

backrest must be adjusted to an upright
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 signa l that it
is occupied by som eone who is heavier
than t he pe rson actually s itting on t he
sea t. T he presence of addition al obje cts
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause t he 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 BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switc hed
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts incl ude t he
c a pac itive passenger de te ct ion sys tem, wir­
ing, b racke ts, and more . The cont ro l uni t
monitors the system o n the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicator light on w hen a
malfunct ion in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected¢
page 158. Beca use the
fro nt passenge r seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to p revent it from bei ng damaged.
D amage to the seat may preven t the Ad ­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle tha t
measure ve hicle acceleration/dece le ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­ bag System about the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 153
- An elect ron ic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors fo r front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsione rs should be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pa nel for
the front passenger .
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un­
de rneath the front passenger seat cover.
This system measu res the ele ct rical capac i­
t ance of the perso n in the seat. The informa ­
t ion regis tered is se nt cont inuo usly to the
elec tronic con trol un it to regu late dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenger side.
-An airbag monitoring system an d ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster ¢
page 157.
-A senso r in each front seat registers the dis ­
tance between the respective seat a nd the
steering whee l or instrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuo usly to
the electron ic contro l unit to regulate de­
ployment of the front Adva need A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes
on and stays on in the center of the instr u­
ment panel¢
fig. 159 and te lls you when
the front Advanced Airbag o n the passenger
side has been turned off.
- A senso r in t he safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er and fo r the front seat passenger that
senses whethe r th at safety belt is latched or
no t and tra nsmi ts this informa tion to the
elec tro nic con trol un it.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger se at can
p revent the front air bag from work ing
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.
-
•
•

same effect. If the front passenger
frontal a irbag is turned on, the
PASSEN ­
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 ai rbags supplement the pro tection of­
fe red by the fro nt three -point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adj ustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the act ivation of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat 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, depending on the d istance between the respe ctive front seat
and the steering whee l or inst rument 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 fronta l airbag
will be t urned 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
ic control unit . The front passenger fronta l air­
bag will a lso be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ger seat eq ua ls tha t of an infant o f abo ut one
year of age in one o f the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag System
under Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced Airbag System on the passen­ ger s ide has been turned off
c:> page 158 .
Airba g sy stem 155
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury w hen an airbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts p roperly.
- 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 higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in­
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 145 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 158 In flated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that ai rbags can unfold p roper ly and pro­
vide s upplementa l pro tect ion in a fron tal col­
lis ion .
T he front airbags are des igned to provide ad­
di tional protection fo r the chest and face of
the d river a nd the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been 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 adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat could become dan­
gerous p rojecti les, and be pushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fire in .,,.

156 Airbag sys te m
the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate sk in .
I t is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
in juries, for example swelling, 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
in some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
dece lerat ion is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbag s will not d eploy:
- 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 ssenger airbag al so will not
d epl oy :
-when the front passenger seat is not occu ­
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER A IR B AG OFF light
c::> page 158 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
.&_ WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can inc rease
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part 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
rious ly injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c::> page 147 .
.&_ WARNING
--A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously inju red and can be killed if t he
front ai rbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child sea t and chi ld against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear -fac ing chi ld seats on
the rear seat.
- If you m ust insta ll a rearward fac ing
chi ld seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
= -
Objects between you and the airbag will
i ncrease the r is k of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the a irbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed in to you as the airbag
i nflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on o r in the a rea
of the front p assenger sea t. Objects
could move into the a rea 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. ..,.

158 Airbag system
con tinuously to se rve as a constant remin der
to have the system inspected immed iately.
I f a malfu nction oc curs that turns the fron t
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c::> page 19
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used,
have t he system inspected immed iate ly
by yo ur autho rized Aud i dea ler . It is pos­
sible that t he airbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
w hen it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig . 1 S9 Sect ion from th e in str ument p anel: PASS EN­
GER AIR BAG O FF ligh t
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is Locate d
in the center o f the instr ument panel
c::> fig . 159.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the fron t Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit . If the
b ul b for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light
burns out, the a irbag ind icator light
fl will
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad·
vanced A irbag System . Although the burned­
out bulb will not change the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag works, it w ill no
L onger be possib le to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
Ligh t to make sure tha t the ai rbag on/off status
is correct fo r the occ upant on
t h e front passenger seat . Have the airbag sys­
tem inspected immediately by your author­
i z ed Audi dea ler.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
- t he igniti on is sw itched on and
- t he capac itive passenger detection system,
whi ch swit ches the front sea t passenger's
front al Adv anced Air bag on and off, detects
a change in t he status of the fron t passen­
ge r seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht stops b linking, a lw ay s make sure tha t
the a irbag s tatus (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is prope r for
t h e age , size and e lectrical capacitance of the
person occupy ing the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safe ty belt for the
front passenger sea t is properly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
show the status of the front seat passenger 's
frontal Ad vanced Ai rbag a few seconds after
the ignition is sw itched on and the airbag in­
dicator light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light :
-will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on i f the e lectrical capacitance
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de­
tect ion system for the front passenger seat
equa ls the combined capacitance of a n in­
fant up to about one yea r of age and one of
the rearwa rd- facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restrai nts listed i n Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 wi th which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
certified; For a List ing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com ­
pliance with the U.S . Safety Standard
c::>poge 173.
- will go out i f the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system .