AUDI A7 2018 Owners Manual

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
insta lled on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's a irbag in a frontal collision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children - when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size
-we strongly
recommend that children always sit in t he back
seat
¢ page 170, Child safety.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously in jured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child sea t or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, cente r arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facin g child seats on t he
rea r seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chil d
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 installed on the
front passenge r's seat may interfere with
t h e deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious person al injury to the child.
.&_ WARNING
If, in e xcept ional circumstan ces, you mus t in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-f a ci ng seat
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 air bag .
Airbag syste m
- Never put the fo rwa rd-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very nea r the instr ument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justmen t range , as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-fa cing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the c hild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child res tra int
so th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Make sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.&_ WARNING
= -
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isplayed whenever a child rest raint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the i gnition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 158, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay o n.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Au di deale r immediately.
- Always carefully follow ins tructions from
child restrain t manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints .
.&_ WARNING
-
If, in exceptional c ircums tances, you must in­
st all a forw ard or re arw ard-fa cing child re­
stra int on t he fron t passenger 's seat:
- I mp roper installat ion of child res traints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provi ding any pro tect ion .
149

Airbag system
-An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child
-even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
-Always carefully follow the manufacture r's
instructions provided with the child seat or
carrier .
-Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacit ive 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 signa l that it is occupied by some­
one who is heav ier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the seat .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 153 L ocation of d river airbag : in stee ring w heel
150
Fig. 154 Locat io n of fro nt passenge r's airbag : in th e in ·
s trumen t pan el
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
q fig. 153 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
q fig. 154 . The
general location of the airbags is marked
"AIR·
BAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS
-they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
A WARNING
-Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
-Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your veh icle 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 dr iver's airbag inflates. ~

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' -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.
- 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.
Airbag system
A WARNING
r--
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 (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehi­
cle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
.,.
151

Airbag syste m
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. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wearing your safe ­
ty belt and wearing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be properly re­
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire­
ments for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senge r side and very sma ll adul ts on the d river
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are intend ­
ed to he lp reduce t he 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 panel when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
c::> page 172, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a chi ld up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified . For a listing of the ch ild
r estra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i­
cle's compl ian ce with the US Safety Standard
c::> page 172,
-When a person is detected on the fron t passen ­
ger seat th at has an electr ica l capacitance t hat
is mo re than the tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified) , the front
152 airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the ele ct ronic control unit detec ts a t otal
e lectrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
t h e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light 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 OFF
li ght does not come on).
For e xample, th e airb ag may deploy 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 of whether the child is i n one of the
child seats listed
c::> page 172),
-a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Feder ­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to help reduce the r isk
of injury t hrough interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
i n the elect ronic co ntrol unit
c::> page 158 .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined on the back
seat. Please be su re to read the impo rtant info r­
mation in the sect ions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
_&. WARNING
T o redu ce the r is k of injury when an air ba g i n-
flates, always wear safe ty be lts prope rly.
II)>

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' -If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit ­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld 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 146 .
A WARNING
A ch ild in a rearward-facing ch ild seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat w ill be ser i­
ously in jured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced A irbag
System.
- Alt hough the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is des igned to t urn off t he front
airbag when a re arwa rd-faci ng ch ild re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat, nobody can abso lutely guaran ­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll 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 c hild seat and child against the
backrest, ce nter 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 c hild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a re ar seat ing pos ition
and have the a irbag sys tem inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If , in except ional circumstances, you mus t in­
sta ll a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward -facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
Airbag syste m
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-fac ing ch ild rest raint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
a nchorage is behind the c hild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the ch ild res trai nt
so th at the s afety be lt will be p roper ly posi ­
tioned.
- Always make su re th at there is not hing o n
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 w ho is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat. The presence of add i­
tional objects cou ld cause the passe nger
front a irbag to be t urned on when it should
be off, o r cou ld cause t he air bag to work in a
way th at is d ifferen t from the way it wo uld
have worked withou t the object on the seat .
- Mak e sure that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever t he ignition is switched on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your ve hicle has a lot
of very important parts of t he Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the capacitive passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more . The control unit monitors the system
on the fro nt passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator l igh t
o n when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is
detec ted ¢ page 158. Because
the fron t passenger sea t contains impo rtan t
parts of the Advanced Ai rbag System, you m ust
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
..,_
153

Airbag syste m
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag S ystem con sists
of the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de ­
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ioners
shou ld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detect io n system under­
neath t he front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the elect rical capac ita nce of the
person in the seat. The info rm ation registe red
is sent continuous ly to the e lectronic 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
Q page 158 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis ­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument pane l. The infor ­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control un it to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags .
- The
PASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel
Q page 158, fig . 156 and tells you when
the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger
s ide has been turned off .
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenge r that senses
whethe r th at safety belt is latched or not and
t ransm its this info rmat ion to the electronic
contro l unit.
154
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from work ing properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced A irbag System from function ing
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detect ion mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly 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 capaci tive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect in format ion is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store i tems under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working p roper 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 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 res tra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
sim ila r items on the front passenge r seat.
The additional laye rs prevent the capac it ive

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' passenger detection system from accurate ly
measu ring the ca pac itance of t he ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the perso n on the seat and
t h us ke ep the Advanc ed Airbag Syst em fr om
working properly .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(suc h as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the devi ce is conne cted to the 12-volt
socket o r the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can in fluence 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
passenge r seat and the child restraint man­
ufact urer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
properly pos ition the ch ild restraint, make
certain tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t comes on and stays on whenever the
c h ild restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and st ay on, immedia tely in­
st all child res traint in a re a r se ating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately .
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work­
ing properly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag indicator light
II (USA models)/
El (Canada models) in the instrument clus­
ter.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking pro perly and ca use the
passenge r frontal airb ag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though the re is a properly
Airbag syste m
installed child restraint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light ligh t
will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
T he front Advance d Airb ag Sys tem and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front t hree-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints * to help red uce the risk of in jury
i n a w ide range of accident and c rash situat ions.
Be sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapte r.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
senso rs and reg istered by the electronic co ntro l
u nit . Crash severity depe nds on speed and dece l­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the front passenge r frontal a irbag will be
tu rned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenge r detect ion sys tem on
t h e fron t passenger se at is less th an the amou nt
programmed in t he e lectronic contro l unit . The
front passenge r frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance 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 Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes
o n and stays o n to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag Sys tem on t he passenger side has
been turned off
q page 15 8.
To reduce the risk of injury when an air bag in ­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are un res tra ined, leaning forwar d, si t­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r is k of injury is much higher .
~
155

Airbag system
-You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 146 .
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 155 In flated fro nt airba gs
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­ plemental protection in a frontal collision.
The fron t airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver 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 airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle. 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 while the sup ­
plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra -
156
sions, 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 only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high enough
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
-in side co llisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
old needed for airbag deployment as reg iste red
by the electron ic cont rol un it.
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- 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 indicat es that the pas­
senger side frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light c::> page 158 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
, -
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes.
-To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean 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 serious ly
inju red by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
force in the blink of an eye
c::> page 147. ~

a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \,;J ' 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
"AIRBAG" 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-
-
Airbag system
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.
157

Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
:~ (USA models) /!f (Canada models)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System : the airbag moni ­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the side
airbags and side curtain airbags with eject ion
mitigation features (including the e lectroni c con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are funct ion ing prope rly whenever the ignition is
on . Every time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system indicator light
II (USA models) 1fll
(Canada models) will come on for a few seconds
(function check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
II (USA models) tfll
(Canada models):
-does not come on w hen the ignition is switched
on,
-does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
-comes on wh ile driving .
If an airbag system ma lf u nction is detected, the
ind icator light wi ll come on to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately.
If 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 igni tion is on .
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
-If the airbag indicato r light ¢page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possible that
158
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 156 Sect io n fro m t he inst rume nt panel: PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF lig ht
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located in
the center of the instrument panel ¢
fig. 156.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will 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 bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light burns out, the
airbag indicator light
II (USA models) a (Can­
ada models) will come on to signal a malfunction
i n the Advanced A irbag System. Although the
burned-out bulb will not change the way the
front passenger's frontal airbag works, it wi ll no
l onger be poss ible to use the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht 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 5 seconds when:
-the ignition 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
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light is proper for the age, size and
electrical capacitance of the person occupying
.,..