warning light AUDI A6 2016 Repair Manual

Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar­
ized here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Al­
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea­
tures descr ibed in this sections may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in­
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera­
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the driver and
passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques­
tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit­
uations.
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in tech­
nology have made a var iety of features available
to help reduce the risk of injury in an accident.
Driving safety
The following is a list of just a few of the safety
features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all pas-
senger seat ing pos itions,
- safety belt pretensioners,
- safety belt force limiters for the front seats,
- safety belt height adjustment systems for the
front seats,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats*
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rear
seats*,
- side curtain airbags with ejection mitigation
features,
- special LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- head restraints for each seat ing position,
- adjustab le steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to­ gether as a system to help protect you and your
passengers in a wide range of accidents . These
features cannot work as a system if they are not
always correctly adjusted and correctly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
ful driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside .
.,. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
¢ page 64, ¢ page 61 .
.,. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height.
125

Driving safety
• Make sure to use the right child restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
c::> page 166, Child
safety.
• Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
c::> page 53, Gen­
eral information.
• Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly. Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts properly
c::> page 134 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted .
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve­
hicle and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
c::> ,&. . Therefore :
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
• NEVER drive when your dr iv ing ability is im ­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc .).
• Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense .
• ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions .
• Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres­
sure or when you are stressed.
.&, WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
126
.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 143 Correct seating posit ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver's seat to the following position:
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
c:> .&_ .
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you dr ive.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a d is­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and your breast bone
r::!) fig. 143.
If not possible, see your authorized Audi deal­
ership about adaptive equipment.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face .
• Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
• For adjustable 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. Move the
head restraint so that it is as close to the back
of the head as possible .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c::> page 13 7. .,._

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r explains why safety be lts a re neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and dea th .
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ilab le to reduce the risk of serious
injury and dea th in automob ile accidents .
For yo ur protect ion and that of your passe n­
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fety be lt s
when the veh icle is moving .
- Pregnant wom en, in ju re d, o r physically i m­
paired persons mus t also use s afety be lts.
L ik e all vehi cle o ccu pants, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injure d if th ey do no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
i n g position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
N ot wea ring safety bel ts or weari ng them im­
properly increases th e r isk of ser ious personal
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever st rap more tha n one perso n, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into a ny be lt .
It is espe­
ci ally dan gerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c hild s itting on you r lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in t he vehicle
t h an t he re are saf ety bel ts availab le.
134
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 14S Safety be lt wa rning lig ht in the inst rument clu s­
ter -en larged
Before driving off, alway s:
.. Fasten your sa fety belt and make sure you are
wearing it prope rly .
(0
"'
"' 9
"' .. Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and proper ly wea r th eir safety belts .
.. Protec t ch ild ren w ith a c hild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is o n as a rem inder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you w ill hear
a war ning tone for a cert ain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
&_ WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means av ailable to re duc e the ris k of ser ious
in jur y and de ath in a utomo bile acciden ts.
F or your protection and that o f yo ur p assen ­
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving .
- Fa ilure to pay atte ntion to the wa rning light
that come on, cou ld lead to personal in jury.

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 .

Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by t he rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
chi ld restraint a nd even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
Q page 166, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the c hild seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and ca use se­
rious person al injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-fa cing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r th e ignit ion is switched on.
.8, WARNING
To reduce t he ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li gh t will
be d isplayed whenever a child res traint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 153, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen ­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r immediately.
- Always care fully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints.
.8, WARNING
--
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat :
- Improper installat io n of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill th e chi ld -even
with a n Advan ced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
i n str uctions provided with the child seat or
car rie r.
145

Airbag syste m
restrained, not just because the law requires you
to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the "low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
a nd instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who a re
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 168, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
" Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be tu rned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restra ined
o n the fro nt passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 168,
-When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrica l capacitance t hat
is more than the tota l electrical capacitance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not
deploy.
The
P ASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the e lectron ic cont rol un it detects a total
e lectr ica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front a irbag to be turned off. If
the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
148
has not been turned off by the contro l uni t and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typica l 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adu lt, t he front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
For e xample , the ai rbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f the
child seats listed ¢
page 168),
-a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires the airbag to meet the "low
r isk" dep loyment criteria to he lp reduce the r isk
of inju ry through interaction with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit ¢
page 153.
Alwa ys remembe r: 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 important infor­
mation in the sections that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much highe r.
- You will also receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when i t inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 142.

A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to t urn off t he front
airbag when a rea rward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the fron t pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran ­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con­
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the c hild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-fac ing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN ­
GER A IR BAG OFF light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you must in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit ion .
Airb ag sys tem
-Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to s ignal that it is occupied by some­
one w ho is heavier than the person actually
sit ting on the sea t. T he presen ce of addi­
tional ob je cts cou ld cause t he passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The contro l unit m onito rs the sys tem
o n t he fro nt passenge r seat when t he igni tion is
swi tched on and turns the airbag indica tor ligh t
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected ¢
page 154. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced A irbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Adva nced
Airbag System for the front passenge r seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Ad vanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle tha t
measure vehicle acce le ra tion/decele ration to
p rov ide informa tion to the Advanced A irbag
System abo ut the sever ity of the cras h.
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integ rated
cr ash sensors for front a nd side impac ts. Th e
cont rol un it "decides" whether to fi re the fron t
airbags based on the info rmation rece ived from
the crash sensors . The contro l un it also "de ­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated. .,.
149

Airbag system
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster~
page 153.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel
~ pag e 154, fig. 159 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety b elt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent 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.
150
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat . Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system 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 capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device , power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint
~

.... N
0 CJ - M I.Cl ......
manufacturer's instructions require the use
of a towel, foam cushion or someth ing else
to properly pos ition the child restraint,
make certain that the
PA SS EN GE R A IR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever
the ch ild restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child res traint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately .
-If liqu id soaks into the fron t passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work ­
ing properly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
II (USA models)/
E,I (Canada models) in the instrument clus­
ter .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not soaked in, this may also keep the a irbag sys­
tem from working properly and ca use the
pa ssenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(t ur ned on), even t hough the re is a properly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet things o n the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger frontal airbag is t urned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light light
will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags s upplemen t the protection offered by the
front three-point safety bel ts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re ­
straints * to help reduce the risk of injury in a
wide range of accident and crash situations. Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Airb ag sys tem
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detect ion system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electron ic contro l unit. The
front passenge r frontal a irbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
P ASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes
on and stays o n to tell you when the front Ad ­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 154 .
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un restra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position in a ny way ,
your r isk of injury is much higher .
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
a ir bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 142.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 158 Inflated front airbags
151

Airbag syste m
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup ­
p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safe ty belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the oc-
c u pan t is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints have been prope rly adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
g reat fo rce, things you have on your lap or have
p laced on the seat could become da ngerous pro ­
jectiles, and be p ushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
W hen an a irbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
ve hicle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that whi le the sup ­
p lemental a irbag sys tem is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other inj uries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra ­
sions, can a lso happen when airbags inflate . Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three­
point safety belts only i n some frontal collisions
in which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbag s will not deplo y:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- whe n the crash decelerat ion meas ured by the
airbag system is less than the minim um thresh­
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit.
152
The front passenge r airbag als o will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat ind icates that the pas­
senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electron ic control un it (the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light c> page 154 and how they
work comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong posit ion can increase the
risk of serious injury in cras hes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the ai rbags
inflate, the drive r and passenge rs must al­
ways sit in an up right posit ion, m ust not
le an aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located .
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
force in the blink of an eye~ page 14 3.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat or
infant carrier with great force and wi ll
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, cen ter armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild seats o n the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing child
seat o n the front passenge r seat because of
except io nal circumstances and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l igh t does not come on
and s tay on, immed iate ly ins tall the rea r­
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating posit ion
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dea ler.