child seat AUDI A6 2016 User Guide
[x] Cancel search | Manufacturer: AUDI, Model Year: 2016, Model line: A6, Model: AUDI A6 2016Pages: 294, PDF Size: 73.88 MB
Page 130 of 294

Driving safety
-Passengers who are unbelted , out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas
senger 's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen ger's knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before dr iving, always adjust the front pas
senger seat properly .
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in
strument pane l, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety be lt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
- Never dr ive with the backrest reclined or
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests are
ti lted back , the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
<='> page 166. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
<='> page 142.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve
hicle is in use.
To reduce the r isk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, you r passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow
ing:
128
.,. For adjustab le head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
<='> page 128.
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
<='> page 137.
.,. Make sure that children are a lways properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
c:::> page 166.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi
tioned on the body and securely latched . By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in
creases the risk of personal injury from im
properly positioned safety belts!
- For adjustable head restraints: always ad
just the head restraint properly so that it
can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adjustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore an impor
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
Fig. 144 Head restraint : viewed from t he front
Page 131 of 294

The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection. .,. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head. If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position as
poss ible ¢
fig. 144. Move the head restraint so
that it is as close to the back of the head as
possible.
... If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing posit ion, slide the center head restraint up
ward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
c> page 56.
_& WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints .
Dr iving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury
dramatically. To help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always dr ive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra int so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le. Move the head restraint so that
it is as close to the back of the head as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at
tempting to adjust the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
c> page 166 .
-
Driving safety
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in
jury or death . Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im
proper seat ing positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
... Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
c> .,& .
The following bulletins list only some sample po
sitions that will increase the risk of serious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback recl ined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
129
Page 132 of 294

Driving sa fe ty
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the r isk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a proper seat ing position and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
being used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
A ppl ies to veh icles : w ith knee a ir b ags
A WARNING
Alw ays ma ke sure that the knee airbag can in
flate without inter ference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk of injury in an acc ident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by being pushed in
to you as the airbag deploys.
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag dep loys, th is can result in
serious or fatal in ju ries .
- No objects of any k ind shou ld be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver 's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or p revent
prope r deployment of the airbag. Small ob
jects can be th rown throug h the vehicle if
the airb ag deploys and injure you or your
passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
returning to the ir origina l positions.
O nly use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured wit h floor mat fasteners .
130
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav
el is required to bring the vehicle to a fu ll stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle contro l and increase the r isk of seri
ous injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal area
and interfere with pedal funct ion. In case of
sudden braking or an acc ident, you would
no t be able to b rake o r acce le rate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
.,. Make sure that the floor mats are properly se
cured and cannot move and interfere w ith the
pedals¢ .&,.
Use only floor mats that leave the peda l area un
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they can not s lip out of position . You can obtai n
su itable floor mats from your author ized Audi
Dealer .
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Aud i.
Floor mats used in yo ur vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly secur ing the floor
mats will prevent them from sliding into posi
tions that could inte rfere with the pedals or im
pair safe operat ion of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that ca nnot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle contro l and increase the r is k of
serious pe rsonal injury.
- Always make sure that floo r mats are prop
erly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to preven t them
from s lipping and interfer ing wi th the ped
als or the ab ility to cont rol the vehicle.
Page 134 of 294

Driving sa fe ty
-Never lea ve yo ur vehicle unattended espe
c ially w ith the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug
gage compartment and close the rear lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be
ing t rapped in a vehicle can lead to se rious
persona l injury.
- Never let children play in or aro und the veh i
cle.
- Never let passe ngers ride i n the luggage
compartmen t. Veh icle occupants m ust al
ways be prope rly restrained in one of t he ve
hicle's seating posi tions.
- A ir c irculat ion hel ps to reduce window fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
th ro ugh vents i n the t rim panel. Be su re to
k eep these sl ots free and open.
- T he t ire pressu re mus t cor respond to the
l oad. The tire p ressure is shown on the tire
pressure l abe l. T he tire p ressure label is lo
cated on the driver 's s ide B-pi llar . The tire
pressure labe l lists the recommended cold
tire inflation p ressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the t ires that
were on your vehicle at the t ime it was man
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load cond itions, please see chap
ter ¢
page 242 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure luggage and other items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
¢ page 131, Loading the luggage compartment .
In a collision, the laws of p hysics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in
jury . Items in t he ve hicle possess energy wh ich
vary with vehicle speed and t he weight of the
item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignifica nt facto r.
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h) , the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4 . 5 kg) object are abo ut 20 times the normal
weight of the item . T his means that the weight
132
of the item would s udden ly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagine the inj uries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying freely through
the passenger compartment could cause in a col
li sion like th is.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail dur ing hard
b raking or in a collision and cause ser ious per
sonal injury.
- Always use suitable mo unt ing straps and
pro perl y secure i tems to the tie-downs in
t he l uggage comp artmen t to help preven t
items from shi fting o r flying forwa rd as dan
ge rous miss iles .
- W hen the rear sea t bac krest is folded down,
a lways use suitable mo unti ng straps and
pro per ly secure items to the tie -downs in
the l uggage compa rtment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous
m iss iles into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
-
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you belie ve that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immedi ately in
form the National Highway Traffic Safet y Administration (NHTSA) in
a ddition to notifyin g Audi of
Ame rica, Inc.
If NHTSA re ceives s imilar com
plaints, it m ay open an in vestiga
tion , and if it finds that a safety
defe cts exist s in a group of
v e hicles, it m ay order a re call and ..,.
Page 139 of 294

.... N
0 CJ '
_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correct ly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be fore driving off and make sure all passen
gers are cor rect ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitt ing
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hard
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter
fere with correct positioning of belts and re
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre
ate slack in the shoulder be lt . However, spe
cial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i
dent. Inspect belts regularly .
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au
thor ized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func
tion of the inert ia reel¢
table on page 205.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 151 Belt buckle and tongu e on t he d river' s se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er 's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper
ly ¢
page 53 , General information.
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion and securely latched in
place before using the belt
Q _&. .
"' Ho ld the bel t by the tongue and pu ll it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢_&. .
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
Qfig. 151.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Iii>
137
Page 140 of 294

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
¢
page 140 . The function of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warn ing light
¢page 18.
Con vertible loc king retracto r
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac
tor 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
¢ page 176 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident ¢
page 138,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat bac k
rest to which the center rea r safety belt* is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen
ger will move forward with the backrest dur
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uckle will reduce safety belt effec
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it
self when it
moves from the stronger parts
138
of the body into critical areas like the abdo men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child seat in the ve
hicle
¢ page 178.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to¢
page 140 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 152 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an a cc ident.
- The shou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways f it
snug ly ¢
fig. 152. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious i nju ry .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
r=;, page 136 .
Page 142 of 294

Safety belt s
"'Push the loop -around fittings up c> fig . 155 @,
or
"'squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings
down @.
"'Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at
tachment is properly engaged.
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth
er impo rtant informat ion
c> page 136.
(D Tips
With the front seats , the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po
sition of the safe ty belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts imprope rly can cause seri
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they a re correctly pos itioned on the body.
Imp roper seating positions reduce the effect ive
ness of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury a nd deat h by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the bo dy. Imp roper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and deat h when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the co rrect seat ing pos i
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
ve hicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an inco rrect
s itting position in the vehicle wh ile trave ling
c> ,&. .
A WARNING
Impro perly wor n safety belts increase t he risk
of se rious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is bei ng use d.
- Always make sure tha t all veh icle occupa nts
are co rrectly restra ined and stay in a co rrect
seat ing pos ition w heneve r the veh icle is be
ing used.
140
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
o ther impo rtant in format ion
c> page 136.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safety belt tensioner s
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power revers ible tensioners. The following
funct io ns are available when the dr iver's/front
passenger 's safety belts are faste ned:
- Automatic tensione rs: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or ve hicle
spee d. To switch the a utomat ic tens ioners off,
select the following in t he M MI :
!CARI function
button
> ( Car )* systems > Vehicle settings >
Seat s > Driver's seat or Pas senger's seat > Au ·
tomatic belt tensioner > Off .
-In certain drivi ng s ituations, the s afe ty bel ts
m ay tighten w ith a reversib le tensioning func
tion
c> page 184.
- The s afety be lts may also tigh ten with this re-
vers ible tension ing f unct io n in m ino r collisions .
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are eq uipped w it h safety bel t
pretensione rs. The system is activa ted by se nsors
i n front, s ide a nd r ear-end collisions of grea t se
verity and in a ro llover. This tig htens the bel t and
takes up belt slack
c> &. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 141.
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
A WARNING
-It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrectly .
- The pyrotechnic system can only p rovide
protection for one collision. If the py rotech
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
sys tem must be rep laced.
Page 144 of 294

Airbag syste m
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 126,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 54,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 136 ,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 166.
In a coll is io n, airbags mus t inflate within the
blink of an eye and wi th considerab le force. The
supp lemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driv er or th e front s eat passeng er is not s eated
properly. Therefore in order to he lp the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all t imes.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collisions¢
page 126, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 54.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restra ined ¢
page 166 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
142
reaching the peda ls, or if yo u have concerns w ith
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, please contact your a u
thori zed Audi dea ler or qua lified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ib le modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov ers, and infla te between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
t h e front passenger . T he a irbags w il l deflate im
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see t hrou gh the windsh ie ld again
without i nterruption.
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even rea lize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso infla te
with a g re at deal of force and nothing should be
i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant 's forward move
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting pa rts of
the ins ide of the vehicle while reduc ing the fo rces
acting on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower pa rts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system de
pends on the veh icle decelerat ion rate caused by
t h e coll is io n and regis tered by the ele ctroni c con
tro l unit . If this ra te is be low the refe rence value
programmed in to the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be trigge red, even tho ugh the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the collision. Vehi
cle damage, rep air costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not .
Since the circumstances will vary cons iderab ly
between one co llision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always t rigger t he a irbags . Important
factors i nclude, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or
soft) of the object which the ca r hits, the angle of
i mp act , vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will .,.
Page 145 of 294

also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
A lwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r:::;,page 134.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, inves ti
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by stri king
the inte rior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle d uring a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
-If you are unrest rained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is mu ch h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up ag ainst the
airbag or too close to it w hen it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Ai rbag.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear sa fety belts prope rly
r:::;, page 137, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let children r ide unrestrained or im
p roperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r:::;, page 126.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects , Items can also mo ve in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
b ag d uring braking o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Obje cts ne ar the airbags can be come
p roject iles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
A WARNING ,.___ -
Airbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by A udi and installed by a t rained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtan t in format ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
143
Page 146 of 294

Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 166 .
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chi l
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat . It ca n be a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a c hild in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le at the time your vehicle was man ufa ct ur ed.
According to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 with which the Advanced Airbag System in
you r vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the
ch ild rest raints that we re used to certify yo ur
vehicle's compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 168 .
144 - wi
ll stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chi ld re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detectio n system ~
page 153, Mon
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
ce rt ified.
If the total electr ical capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old chi ld but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the electron ic con trol
u nit and can dep loy if the con trol uni t senses an
impact t hat meets the conditions stored in its
memo ry.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y depl oy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce the r isk of in
ju ry through interaction w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic contro l unit ¢
page 154, PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
ll-