light AUDI A8 2017 Owners Manual

Driving safety
• Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
c:> page 54, Seats
and storage.
• Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly . Al ­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts properly
c:> page 218 .
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
vehicle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
c:> Li').. Therefore :
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
• NEVER drive when your driving 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.
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
208
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 218 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 drive.
• 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. 218.
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.
• Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head .
If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:>poge 221.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all t imes .

Audi pre sense
Audi pre sense Preventative passenger
protection
A pp lies to: ve hicles w ith Audi p re se nse
Pre sense can initiate steps to protect vehicle oc­
cupants in certain dangerous situations. The
fu nctions described a re available depending on
ve hicle equi pment:
Audi pre sense basic
The fo llow ing funct ions can be triggered in cer­
tain driving situations:
- Tighten ing of the safety belts (for examp le,
during heavy braking): the front safety belts
have reversible belt tensioners. If a coll is ion
does not occur, the safety belts loosen slightly
and are ready to trigger again.
- Closing the w indows and the sunroof*
The function of the pre sense basic is activated at
a speed of 20 mp h (30 km/h) or higher. The de ­
p loyment time is adapted in the drive select dy­
namic mode.
Audi pre sense front (vehicles with adaptive
cru ise control*)
Pre sense front contains the f unctions of pre
sense basic. In add ition, the likelihood of a rear­
end collis ion with the vehicle ahead is also calcu­
lated, withi n the limits of the system. If the risk
of a collision is detected, the following functions
can t rigge r:
- Audi braking gua rd¢
page 99
- Tensioning of the safety belts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof *
Audi pre sense rear (vehicles with side
a ss ist* )
Pre sense rear contains the functions of p re sense
basic. In addition, the li ke lihood of a rear-end
col lision from the vehicle be hind is a lso ca lculat­
ed, w ith in the lim its of the system .
If the risk of a
collis ion is detected, the following functions can
tr igger:
- Tens ioning of the safety be lts
- Closing the windows and the sunroof *
216
- Adjusting the seats: the settings for the powe r
head restrains, the upper sections of the backr­
ests and the pne umatic side bolsters* change
on the front seats and the outer rear seats*. If
a collision does not occur, the seat sett ings
that were previously used are restored .
Audi pre sen se plus
Pre sense plus contains the f unctions of p re
sense front and pre sense rear.
Error message
Audi pre sense : Unavailable
Preventative passenger protection is not ava ila­
ble. Drive to yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r o r au­
t h ori zed Aud i Service Facility immedia tely to have
t h e malfunct ion corre cte d.
.&_ WARNING
Pr e sense canno t overcome natura l phys ica l
l aws . It is a system designed to assist and it
cannot prevent a co llision. Do not let t he in­
creased sa fety provided tempt you into tak ing
risks . T his could inc rease your ris k of a colli ­
sion.
- The system can dep loy inco rrectly.
- Please note that the sensors do not always
detect a ll objects. Th is increases the r is k of
a co llision.
- Pre sense does not react to peop le or ani­
mals or objects that a re c rossing the vehi­
cle's path or are difficu lt to detect
¢page 94.
- Ref lective objects such as gua rd ra ils o r the
entrance to a tunne l, heavy rain and ice can
affect the funct io n of the radar sensors a nd
t he system 's ability to de tect a collision risk.
(D Note
The sensors can be d isplaced by impacts or
damage to the bumper , wheel housing a nd
underbody . Pre sense can be impaired by this .
Have an autho rized Aud i deale r or autho rized
A udi Service Fac ility ch eck their f unct io n. .,..

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protect ion and that of your passen­
gers, always co rrectly wear safety be lts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must a lso use safety belts.
L ik e all vehicle occ upants, they are mo re
likely to be serio usly injured i f they do not
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
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. In some
veh icles, there are four seating positions: two in
the front and two in the rear . Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly incre ases the risk of ser io us personal
injury and dea th.
- Never st rap more tha n one person, includ­
ing small ch ild ren, into any be lt .
It is espe­
c ia lly da ngerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap .
218
-Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available .
- Be s ure 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 to remind you about the importance of buckling-up .
F ig. 220 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in the instrument clus·
ter -en larged
Befor e dri ving off , alway s;
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' N .,, 0
"' .. m
.. Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts.
.. Protect chi ldren with a c hild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ign ition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time.
Faste n your safety belt and make su re that your
passenge rs al so properl y put on thei r safety
b e lts .
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to red uce the risk of ser io us
inj ury and death in a utomobile accidents.
For your protection and that of yo ur passen­
gers, a lways correct ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving . ..,.

C) C0 ....
"' ,....
"' .... 0 0 :r -Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 221 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 222 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi­
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety belts
¢fig. 221, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 222 .
Safety belts
The same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 223 A dr iver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig . 224 A rear passe nger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam v iolently into the steering wheel,
Ill>-
219

Safe ty belts
during hard braking and in an accident. The be lt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety b elt pr ete nsione rs
The safety be lts are equ ipped with a belt preten ­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
¢
page 224. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light ¢
page 23.
Convertibl e loc king retra ctor
Every safety be lt 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 258.
A WARNING
Improperly pos it ioned safety belts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident¢
page 222,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
prope rly positioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong b uck le wi ll red uce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roper ly restrained
can be serio usly injured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into cr it ical areas like the abdo ­
men.
- Always lock the convertible lock ing retractor
when you are secur ing a child seat in the ve­
hicle ¢
page 260.
@ Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
¢ page 224.
222
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 2 27 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjus tment to change the posit io n
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned sa fety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it s its as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdome n. T he belt sho uld a lways fit
snug ly¢
fig. 22 7. P u ll on the bel t to tigh ten
if necess ary.
- A loose-fit ting safety belt can ca use serious
in ju ries by s hifting its posi tion on yo ur body
from the strong bones to mo re v ulnera ble,
so ft tissue and cause serious in jury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS an d
o ther impor tan t in formation¢
page 220 .

Airbag syste m
seat. It can be a very dangerous place fo r an
infant or a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been ce rt ified to comp ly with the requirements
of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard (CMVSS)
208 as applica ­
b le at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger s ide has been
certified for "suppression " for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
p loyment " for children aged
3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard).
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been tu rned off
by the ele ct roni c con trol unit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ign it ion, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will come on fo r a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small c hild or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight ­
sensing mat¢
page 236, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control unit detects a tota l we ight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
a ir bag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does not come
on) .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned
off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the condit ions stor ­
ed in its memory.
For e xample, the airbag may deploy if:
228
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 250), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned
off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nstrument cluster and stays on.
The fro nt airbag on the passenge r side m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill uminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with their back against a non-recl ined back­
rest with the ir fee t on the vehicle floor in front of
the sea t is on the front passenger seat
<=> page 208 , Proper seating position for the driv ­
er .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in ­
j ury th rough interaction w ith the airbag . "low
risk" deployment occurs in th ose crashes that
take place at lowe r decele rations as defi ned in
the e lec tronic co ntro l unit ¢
page 23 7, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remembe r, a ch ild seat or i nfant ca rr ie r
i nsta lled on the fron t seat may be s truck a nd
k nocked o ut of pos it ion by the rapid ly inflat ing
passenger 's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag cou ld great ly reduce the effectiveness of the
c hi ld rest raint and even seriously injure the child
during in flat ion.
Fo r th is reason, and beca use the back seat is the
safest place for children - when proper ly restrain ­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 248, Child safety .
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
Sys tem.

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' -The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild 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 fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
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 in terfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
,&. WARNING
I=
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must i;-
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke 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 side a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
-Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjus tment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
wa rd-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure tha t the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restrain t and
not next to or in front of the chi ld res train t
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
tioned.
- Make sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
Airbag sys tem
,&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isplayed whenever a child restraint 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 t he checks described
~ page 236, Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen­
ge r seat an d install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the air bag system inspec ted by your
Aud i dealer immediately.
- Always c are fully follow ins tructions from
child restrain t manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restraints .
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in ­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them f rom providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kill the chi ld -even
with an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always care fully follow the manufacturer 's
instr uctions provided with the child seat or
car rier.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in ­
jury in a crash.
229

0 co .... N ,..... N .... 0 0 :c ' Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with Un ited States
F edera l 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 supp lements
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
f late only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de­
cele ration 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 overall occupant re­
s tra int system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it prope rly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uires yo u to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low r is k" requi re­
ments fo r 3 and 6 ye ar-old children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the drive r
side . The low risk dep loyment criteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition , the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requi rements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re ­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 250, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"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 restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward -fac ing infant restra ints listed
Airb ag sys tem
in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
veh icle was certif ied. For a List ing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 250,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in the
con trol un it is detected on the front passenger
seat .
When a person is detected on the front passen­ ger seat, weighing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about
1 year old restra ined in one
of the rear-facing or forward -fac ing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may o r may not de­
ploy .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic control uni t detects a tota l
weight on the fron t passenger sea t th at req uires
the front airbag to be turned off . If the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
condit ions stored in its memory .
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
on the passenger s ide may deploy (the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on) .
For example , the ai rb ag may deploy if :
- a small chi ld that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 250),
- 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 instrument pane l wi ll come on and stay on .
T he front airbag on the passenger side m ay
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) if: ..,.
231

Airbag syste m
-a small adu lt or teenager is on the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitting upright with
their back against a non -reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Feder ­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as def ined
in the electronic control unit¢
page 236.
Alway s remember: Even though your vehicle is
equ ipped w ith Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat . Please be sure to read the important infor­
mat ion in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed a ll of the WARN INGS.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of inj ury when an ai rbag in­
fla tes, a lways wear safety bel ts p roperly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is much h igher .
- Yo u will also re ceive 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 226.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
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
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed 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 usef ul life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
232
-
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re ­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenge r seat because of
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immed iate ly install the rear­
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating posit ion
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcums tances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
fron t passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fa cing sea t
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 restrain t
up against or very near the instr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the air­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in fron t of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ign it ion is swi tched on.
· Advanced Airbag System components
The fro nt passenge r sea t in your veh icle has a lo t
of ve ry important parts o f the Advanced A irbag
System in it. These parts include t he weight­
sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and
more. The fu nction of the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electronic
1111>

control unit when the ignition is on. The control
unit monitors the Advanced Airbag System and
turns the airbag indicator light on when a ma l­
function in the system components is detected. The funct ion of the a irbag indicator light is de­
scr ibed in greater deta il below . Because the front
passenger seat contains important parts of the
Advanced Airbag System, you must take care to p revent it from being damaged. Damage to the
seat may preven t the Advanced A irbag for the
fron t passenger seat from doing its job in a
crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
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 a bout the severity of the crash.
- An e lectronic 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
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and control valve inside the instrument pa nel for
the front passenger.
- A weig ht-sensing mat under the upholstery
padd ing of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the total weight on the seat. The
i nformation registered is sent continuously to
the e lectron ic cont rol unit to reg ulate dep loy­
ment of the front Adv a need Airbag on the pas­
senger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 236.
-A sensor in eac h front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the steering wheel or instrument pane l. The infor­
mation registered is sent contin uously to the
0 co electronic control unit to regulate deployment ....
~ of the front Adva need A irbags. N .... 0 0 :c ' Airb ag sys tem
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 237, fig . 233 and te lls yo u when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the we ight registered by the weight -sens­
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whether
the front airbag fo r the front passenger seat
should be tu rned off o r not ¢
page 22 7, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- 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 o r 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 funct ion ing
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 d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
p lace them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctured
it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat . Such items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the a irbag con trol u nit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat cou ld be
~
233