cup AUDI A6 2017 Owner's Manual

Airbag system
-Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle 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 po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in ­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- 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 in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag 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 de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- 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 wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument 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 music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
152
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver . Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing 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 un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the .,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S . Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208, as
well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ..,.

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" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide additional pro te ction
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re ­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
stra ined, not jus t because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 173, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Ai rbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listi ng of the ch ild
restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cl e's compl iance wi th the US Safety St andard
c::> page 173,
Airb ag sys tem
- When a person is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat that has an elect rical capacitance that
is more than the total e lectr ica l capacitance of
a child that is about
1 year o ld restrained in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in you r vehicle was cert ified), the front
ai rbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic control unit detects a tota l
elect rical capacitance on the front passe nger sea t
t h at req uires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li gh t does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the contro l unit 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 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
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
light does not come on) .
For e xample , the airbag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
c::, page 17 3),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenge r a irb ag deploys, the Feder ­
al S tanda rd requi res t he ai rbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp red uce the r isk
of i njury 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 159.
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back ..,.
153

Airbag syste m
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­ ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 147 .
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed 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 tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center a rmrest, door, or roof .
- Always install rearward-facing 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 exceptional c ircumstances 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 seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
154
.&_ WARNING ,_
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing 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 occup ied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting o n the sea t. T he presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turne d on when it should
be
off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is ..,.

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" N .... 0 0 <..:l ' switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 159. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag System con sists
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle accelerat ion/ decelerat io n to
provide info rmation to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electro nic cont rol un it, with integrated
c rash senso rs fo r front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the fro nt
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The contro l unit a lso "de­
c ides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capac itive passenger detect ion system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capac itance of the
person in the seat . T he information registered
i s sent conti nuous ly to the electro nic cont rol
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li gh t in the ins trument cluster
c::> page 159.
-A sensor i n each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
stee ring wheel or instrument pane l. The info r­
mation reg istered is sent cont in uous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Ai rbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l
c::> page 159, fig. 156 and tells you when
Airb ag sys tem
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 be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic
control un it.
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 p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct io ni ng
p roper ly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be pe rformed by qualified a nd p roperly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholste ry from the front
passe nger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
s e at o r disco nnect w ire s from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senge r de tect io n 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 passenge r seat. S uch ob­
jects c an influen ce the cap aci tance reg is­
t ered by the capaci tive passenger dete ction
sys tem, so that incorrect in formation is pro ­
vided to the ai rbag control un it.
- Never store i tems unde r the front p assenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat cou ld be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working proper ly.
- Never p lace 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 A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and preven t the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying prope rly .
155

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A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in anyway,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag¢
page 147.
More important things to know about front
airbags
F ig. 155 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated position so
that a irbags 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 a nd face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints 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 dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
Airb ag sys tem
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that wh ile the sup­
plementa l airbag system is designed to red uce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injur ies,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra­ s ions, can also 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 on ly in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high e nough
to deploy the airbags .
Fron t airb ags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when t he crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m in imum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic control unit.
Th e front passenger airbag also will not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l ca pacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas­
senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light¢ page 159 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
-Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the drive r and passengers must al­
ways sit in an up right posit ion, must not
lea n aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye¢
page 148. ~
157

Airbag system
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 hit the child 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 rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets , large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "A IRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air-
158
-
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it
in fact is not , or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat.
- 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 some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject 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.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people with a history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors .
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy , wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .

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Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
~ (USA models) /!.f (Canada models)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced A irbag System: the airbag moni­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side curtain airbags with eject ion
mitigation features (including the e lectronic con­
trol unit, sensors and system w iring) are all
monitored co nti nuously to make sure that they
are funct io ni ng properly whenever the ignition is
on . Every t ime you turn on the ignition , the air­
bag system ind icator light
1B (USA models) ! E,I
(C an ada models) will come on for a few seconds
(f unction check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II ( USA models) Jfll
( Canada models) :
-does not come on when the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on w hile d riving .
I f an airbag system malf unct ion is detected, the
i ndicator lig ht w ill c ome on to se rve as a consta nt
reminder to h ave the system inspected immedi­
a tely .
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenger side off , the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignit io n is on .
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
er ly cannot provide supp lemental protection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight
c:::> page 17
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
authorized Aud i dealer. It is possible that
Airbag system
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inf late w hen it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
F ig . 1 56 Sect io n from t he inst ru m en t panel: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF light
The PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light is located in
the center of the inst rument panel
c:::> fig . 156 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light w ill come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic contro l unit. If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light bur ns out, the
airbag indicato r ligh t
fl (USA models) Q (Can­
ad a mode ls) will come on to signa l a mal func tion
i n the Advanced Airbag Sys tem. Although the
burned -out bulb will not change the way the
front passenger 's fronta l airbag works, it wi ll no
l onger be poss ible to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light to make sure that the a irbag on/
off status is correct for the occupant on the front
passenger seat . Have the airbag system inspect ­
ed immediately by your author ized Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about
S seconds when:
- the ignit ion is switched on and
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger's fron­
tal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a
change in the status of the front passenger
seat .
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always make sure that the airbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENG ER
AIR BAG OFF
lig ht is proper for the age, size and
electrical capacitance of the person occupying
liJJ>
159

Airbag system
the front passenger seat . Always make sure that
the safety belt for the front passenger seat is
proper ly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat passenger's frontal
Advanced Airbag a few seconds after the igni­
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- 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 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was certified; For a list ing of the child re­
straints that were used to certif y you r vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢page 173.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, o r
- a rearward-facing child res traint has been in ­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rw ar d-fa cing child restraint has bee n ins tal­
led on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typica l 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward-fac ing ch ild restraint on the front pas­
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
160
kind of child restraint is at one o f th e seating po ­
sitions on the rear seat¢
page 148, Child re­
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 171, Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and re install the child restraint. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r seat has been corre ctly routed through
the child restraint as described in the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible lock ing retrac­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no e lectrica l device (suc h as a
laptop, CD player, e lectronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion. .,.

Airbag system
-If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft adjustment range , as far away
from the airbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
_& WARNING
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transporting anyone on
the front passenger seat .
@ Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side will be turned
off, and the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing , remov­
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a collision .
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de-
162
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly :
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument panel or modify them in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cup holders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the airbag units .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with plain water. Solvents or cleaners could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair , adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or electrical system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ately by an authorized Audi dealer .
- The airbag system can deploy only once. Af­
ter an airbag has been deployed, it must be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved especially for your
Audi model version. Replacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0 0 <.,;) 'SI"
must be performe d by qualified workshops
only. Make sure that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your Audi Warranty
&
Maintenance booklet under AIRBAG RE­
PLACEMENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the veh icle or the c ircuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licable safety precautions
must be followed .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al - special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the veh icle or parts of the re­
strai nt system including airbag modules and
safety bel ts wit h pretensione rs are scrapped,
all a ppli cable laws and regulations mus t be
observed. Your a uthorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requirements and we recom ­
mend that you have your dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that t he Advanced Airbag System
pe rforms in a crash. For examp le, using tire-r im
comb inat ions no t approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicle, changing the s tiffness of the suspens ion,
includ ing the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit . Some suspens ion changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not dep loy if
the changes had no t been made. Other kinds of
Airb ag sys tem
changes may red uce the force levels measured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
i ng when it sho uld.
A WARNING
=
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance a nd in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that do not have the same performance charac­
ter istics as the components origina lly instal­
led on you r vehi cle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations that have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to: vehicles wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 1 57 Dr iver 's k nee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the s teer ing whee l~
fig . 157, the
airbag fo r the passenger is at abou t the same
heig ht in the i nstr ume nt p ane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
The knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
t h e d river's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
l ower thigh areas a nd supplements the p rotec­
t ion prov ided by the safety bel ts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee a irbags also
deploy in frontal coll is ions when the deploymen t
Iii--
163