AUDI Q3 2015 Owners Manual
Manufacturer: AUDI, Model Year: 2015, Model line: Q3, Model: AUDI Q3 2015Pages: 258, PDF Size: 64.9 MB
Page 121 of 258

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-If you must insta ll a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan ces and the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag sys tem inspec ted by you r
authorized Audi dealer.
& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward -fac ing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the inst ru
ment pane l.
- Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away f rom
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the fo rward-facing child restraint. T he
backrest must be adjus ted to an upr ight
posit ion .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes o n and s tays on all the
t ime w henever the ign ition is switc hed
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehi cle has a
l ot of very important par ts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include t he
weight -sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and mo re. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the e lectronic control un it when the ignit ion is on.
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and tur ns the a irbag indicator
light on when a ma lfu nction in t he system
components is de tected. The func tion of the
a ir bag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because t he front passenge r
Airbag sys tem 119
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from do ing its job in
a crash.
The front Advanced Air bag System
consists of the following:
- Cras h sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration
to prov ide info rmat ion to the Adva nced Ai r
bag System about the sev erity of the crash .
- An elect ronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors fo r front and s ide impacts.
The control u nit "decides" whether to fi re
t he front a irbags based on t he informat io n
received from t he crash sensors. The con trol
unit also "decides" whe ther the sa fety belt
pretensioners sho uld be activated.
- An Adv anced A irbag w it h gas gene ra tor and
cont ro l valve fo r the d river inside the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advance d Airbag w ith gas generator and
contro l valve inside the inst rument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A wei ght -sensing mat unde r the upho ls tery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat .
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on t he passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the instr ument cluster¢
page 123.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l or inst rument panel. The i n
formation register ed is sent cont inuo usly to
t he ele ct ron ic cont ro l unit to regula te de
ployment o f th e front Adva nced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of t he i nstr u
ment p anel
¢ page 123, fig. 120 and tells
you when the fron t Advanced Air bag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the s afety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
II>-
•
•
Page 122 of 258

120 Airbag sys te m
on the safety belt. The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the
we ight-sensing mat help the control un it
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not ¢
page 114, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know .
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or
not and transm its this informa tion to the
electron ic cont ro l unit.
& WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from working
properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front passenger and driver seat wi ll pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by q ualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never
remove the front passenger or
dr iver seat from the veh icle.
- Never
remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat .
- Never disassemble or
remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it .
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat .
If the weight
sensing mat in the passenger seat is punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sens ing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Ai r
bag System under the passenge r seat
cou ld be damaged, prevent ing them and
t h e a irbag sys tem from wo rking proper
ly .
-
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement
upho lstery that have not been specifica l
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat
covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing chi ld re
straints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or similar items on the front passenger
seat. T he additional padding w ill prevent
the we igh t-sensing mat in the sea t from
accurately regis tering the child rest rain t
or pe rson on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function ing p roperly.
- If you m ust use a child restraint on the
front passenge r seat and the child re
straint manufacture r's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
someth ing e lse to properly pos ition the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the ch ild re
s traint is i nstalled on the front passen
ge r seat.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and st ay on, immed i
ately install child rest raint in a rear seat
ing position and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
s ide a irbags supp lement the protect ion of
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters a nd the
adjus table head rest rain ts to help reduce the
r isk of in jury in a wide range of accident and
c rash situations . Be s ure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment o f the Adv a need A irbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
1111-
Page 123 of 258

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by the crash senso rs and registered by the
e lectronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
un it . The front ai rbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the ch ild safe
ty seats that has been certified unde r Federa l
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recog nized on the sea t. T he
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
c::> page 114, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much highe r.
- You w ill also rece ive serious inj uries and
cou ld eve n be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in·
fla tes · even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 112.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 119 Inf lated fro nt air bags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep front
seat occupa nts in t he p roper seated pos ition
so that airbags ca n unfo ld prope rly and pro·
A irba g sy stem 121
vide supplementa l protection in a fron tal col
lision .
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide ad
d it ional p rotec tion fo r the ches t and fa ce of
the d river and the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are wo rn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupan t is properly seated as far as poss i·
b le from the airbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted.
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have p laced on the seat co uld become dan·
gerous p ro jectiles , and be pushed in to you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is norma l and is not ca used by a fi re in
the ve hicle. This dust is made up mostly of a
powde r used to lubricate the air bags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate skin .
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re·
d uce the like lihoo d of se rious injur ies, ot he r
injur ies, for ex ample swe lling, br uis ing and
minor ab rasions, can also happen when air
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
on ly supplement the three point safety be lts
in some fronta l co llisions in which the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air
bags.
Front a irbags will not depl oy :
- if the ignition is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear -end co llisions,
- in rollove rs,
- when the crash dece leration measu red by
t he air bag system is less than the min imum
t hreshold needed fo r airbag deploymen t as
reg istered by the electronic cont ro l unit. ..,.
Page 124 of 258

122 Airbag sys te m
Th e front p assenger airbag will als o not
d eploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem indicates that the front airbag on the passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PA SSE NGER AIR
BA G OFF
light comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious inju ry in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against o r place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located .
- Occ upants who a re unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be se
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
9page 114.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
sea t because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-
Objects between you and the airbag will
i ncrease the r isk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by be ing pushed into you as the airbag
i nflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front air
bags du ring bra king or other sudden ma
neuver and become dangerous p rojec
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in
jury if the airbags inf late.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or oth
er objects (such as cupholders, tele
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering whee l,
instr ument panel, seat backrests or be ·
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause in ju ry in a crash, es
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also move into the area of the s ide airbag or
the front airbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause inj ury, par tic ularly when the seat is re
clined .
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath i ng cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory conditions shou ld get fresh air right
away by getting o ut of the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors .
Page 125 of 258

-If y ou are in a collis ion in w hich a irbags
deploy, wash yo ur hands and face w ith
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.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the
side airbags and side c urtain airbags with
ejection mitigation features (including the
e lectronic control un it, sensors and system
wiring) a re all monitored continuously to
make sure that they are func tioning properly
wheneve r the ignit io n is on. Each time yo u
turn on the igni tion , the airbag monitori ng in
di cator
light E,lwill come on for a few sec
onds (self diagnostics) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicato r light
El:
- does not come on w hen the ignitio n is
switched on,
- does not go ou t a few seconds after yo u
have swi tched o n the ignition, or
- c omes on w hile d riving.
If an airbag system malfunct ion is detected,
the indicator light will first start flashing to
cat ch the driver's attention and then st ay on
con tinuously to se rve as a cons tan t reminder
to have the system inspected immedia tely.
I f a malfunct ion occurs that turns the front
~ a ir bag on the passenger side off, the PASSEN-
"' N GER AIR BAG OFF li gh t w ill c ome on and stay 0
~ on whenever the ignition is on .
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Airba g sy stem 123
A WARNING
An airbag system t hat is not functioning
properly cannot prov ide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light ¢ page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have th e system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer.
It is pos
sib le tha t the air bag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 12 0 Sect ion from t he instrume nt pa n el: PASSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF light
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
¢fig . 120 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side has been
turned off by the electron ic control unit. Each
time you turn on t he ignit ion, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and :
- will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occ upied,
- will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenge r seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been ins talled o n the fron t
seat, or
Page 126 of 258

124 Airbag sys te m
- a rearward-facing ch ild restraint has been
insta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in
sta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passen
ger seat is equa l to or less than the com
bined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrain
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac
ing infant 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
P A S
S ENG ER AIR BA G OFF
light will stay on . Nev
er install a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child rest raint is at one
of the seat ing positions on the rear seat
¢ page 114, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 133, Child Safety.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regular ly to
make certain that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light stays on cont inuo usly whenever the
ignit ion is on. If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the t ime, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinsta ll the chi ld restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly ro uted around the child restraint as descr i
bed in the chi ld restraint manufactu rer's in
stru ctions;
- make sure that the convertible locking re
t ra ctor on the safety belt fo r the front pas
senger seat has been act ivated and that the
sa fety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the senso r below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job ¢
page 143.
- make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and ch ild safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sens ing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con
t inuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen- ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by your autho rized Aud i deale r
immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and make sure that the child is properly restra in
ed in a c hild restra int that is approp riate for
its s ize and age.
The
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
t h e front pas senge r sea t. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un
der these ci rcumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger sea t is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the sea t
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
¢ page 95, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being proper ly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing, .,..
Page 127 of 258

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-accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sens ing mat
under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGER AIR B AG O FF or
PAS SENGER AIR B AG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . Th is is to in
form the driver of the current front passenger
a ir bag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator l ight
c> page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r autho rized Aud i dea ler. It is pos
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates , a ch ild without
a child restraint, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing chi ld re
straint that has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younge r, always ride o n the
back seat properly restrained fo r their
age and si ze.
- Always install forward or rea r-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat - even
with an Advance d Airbag System. A
irbag
sys tem 125
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PA SS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rea r seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspe cted by your au
thorized A udi dealer.
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rea r
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch pressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and registe r more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmost po
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible . The backrest must be adjust
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
...---
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger sea t after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rear seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans
porting anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be ..,.
•
•
Page 128 of 258

126 Airbag sys te m
turned off , and PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
a irbag system and prevent that system from
wo rking prope rly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impa ired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or po l
l ute the env ironme nt.
& WARNING
Imprope r ca re, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstr uct, o r change the
steering wheel horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened w ith plain wate r. Solvents or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de
ploy and p rotect properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airb ag sy stem.
- All wo rk on the ste ering wheel, inst ru
me nt pane l, front sea ts or elec trical sys
tem (incl uding the installation of au di o
equipment, ce llular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualifie d technician who has the t raining
and special equipment necessary. -
For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see y our
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Never modify the front b umper or parts
of the vehicle body .
- Always make sure that the s ide airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never ins tall seat covers or re place
ment uphols te ry over the fron t seat
ba cks tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat c ushio ns th at
cove r the areas where the si de a irbags
inflate .
- Dam age to the orig inal se at cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the side a ir
bag module must a lways be repaired
immediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has in flated, it
m ust be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dealer or qualified technician w ho has
the techn ical information , training and
specia l equipm ent necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be re placed wit h new replac e
men t pa rts designed and ap proved espe
ci ally f or you r A udi model version. Re
p lacement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE
MENT RECORD .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten
s ione rs might be classified as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may app ly, see
www .dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lo rate . When the veh icle or parts of the
r est raint system including airbag modu les
liJI,
Page 129 of 258

M N M N
0 ::i co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
safety belts with pretens ioners are scrap
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Yo ur authorized Audi
dea ler is familiar w ith these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this se rv ice for you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced A irbag Sys
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and sent to the electronic co ntrol
u ni t. Some suspension changes can, for exam
p le, increase the fo rce levels measured by the
se nsors and make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy i f the
changes had not been made. Other kinds of
changes may reduce the force levels meas
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploying when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's s uspension includ
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina
tions can change Advanced Airbag pe r
formance and increase the risk of ser ious
personal in jury in a crash.
- Never install suspe nsion components
t ha t do not have the same per fo rman ce
c h arac ter istics as the componen ts or igi
nally insta lled on your vehicle .
- Never use ti re -r im combi nat ions tha t
h ave not been approved by A udi.
A WARNING
-
Items s tored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con tro l modu le and prevent the Advanced A ir
bag System from work ing properly.
A irba g sy stem 12 7
-Always ma ke s ure that nothing can inter
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig . 1 21 Side a irbag locat ion in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests<=)
fig. 121 facing the
doo rs . They are identified by the word "AIR
BAG".
The side airbag sy stem bas icall y consi st s of :
- t he ele ctron ic cont rol modu le and external
side impact sensors
- the two a irbags located in the s ides of the
front backrests
- t he airbag warning ligh t in the instrument
cluste r.
The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make ce rtain that it is f unctioning properly
at all times. Each time you turn on the ig ni
tion, the airbag syst em ind icator light will
come on for a few seconds (se lf diagnostics).
The side airbag system supplements the safe
ty belts and can help to red uce the risk of in
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up per to rso on the s ide of the vehicle that is
str uck in a s ide collis ion. The ai rbag deploys
on ly in side impac ts and only when the vehicle
acce le ration reg istered by the cont ro l unit is
high enough. If this rate is be low the refer
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
IJJ-
Page 130 of 258

128 Airbag system
though the car may be badly damaged as a re
sult of the collision . It is not possible to de
f ine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir
cumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another . Important facto rs
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
vehi cle speed, etc. ¢
page 129, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system.
As ide from the ir normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
coll is ion so th at the side a irbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety be lt. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall oc
cupant restraint system in your ve hicle. Al
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is another reason why you should a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re
quires you to do so¢
page 104, General
notes .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental s ide a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other injuries, for example, swell ing, bruising,
and minor abras ions can also be associated
with deployed side a irbags . Remember too,
side ai rbags w ill deploy on ly once and o nly in
cer tain k inds of accidents -yo ur sa fe ty belts
a re a lways there to offer protect ion .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of veh icle damage are not necessar ily an indi
cation of over-sensi tive or failed a irbag activ a
tion. In some co llisions, both fron t and s ide
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air bags will deploy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al
ways there to offer protection in those acci
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed .
The side airbag sy ste m will not depl oy :
- when the ignition is turned off - in side co
llisions when the accelera tion
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in front -end collisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
s ide curtain airbags and s ide a irbags may be
trigge red together .
_&. WARNING
-
-Safety b elts and th e airbag system w ill
only provide prote ction when occupa nts
are in the proper seating position
9 page 129.
- If th e ai rbag ind icator light ¢page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized A udi dealer. It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu
pants who are properly restrained.
F ig. 122 In flated side a irbags o n left s ide of veh icle
~ 0 :::, 00 a,
When the system is triggered, t he a irbag is
filled with propellant gas and b reaks through
a seam in the seat su rface area ma rked "AIR
BAG".
It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
t hi s additional protect ion, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very h igh speed and with great force . The sup
plementa l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing pos ition is not proper or upright or if ..,.