warning light AUDI Q3 2016 Service Manual

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r explains why safety be lts a re neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and dea th .
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ilab le to reduce the risk of serious
injury and dea th in automob ile accidents .
For yo ur protect ion and that of your passe n­
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fety be lt s
when the veh icle is moving .
- Pregnant wom en, in ju re d, o r physically i m­
paired persons mus t also use s afety be lts.
L ik e all vehi cle o ccu pants, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injure d if th ey do no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
i n g position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
N ot wea ring safety bel ts or weari ng them im­
properly increases th e r isk of ser ious personal
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever st rap more tha n one perso n, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into a ny be lt .
It is espe­
ci ally dan gerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c hild s itting on you r lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in t he vehicle
t h an t he re are saf ety bel ts availab le.
104
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig . 11 0 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e in st ru ment clu s·
ter · enl arged
Before driving off , always:
.. Fasten yo ur safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' 0 ,;, .. m
.. Ma ke sure that your passengers also b uck le up
and properly wear t heir safety belts.
.. Protect your chi ldren with a ch ild restraint sys ­
tem app ropr iate for the size and age of the chil­
dren .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is switched on as a re­
minde r to fas ten the safety be lts . In addition,
you w ill hear a wa rn in g tone for a ce rtain per iod
of time .
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passenger s also properly put on their safe­
ty belt s.
&_ WARNING -
- Safety bel ts are the sing le mos t eff ec tive
means available to re du ce the risk of serio us
in jur y and dea th in a utomobile accidents.
F or your protection and t hat of yo ur passen­
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is movin g.

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you
move freely.
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is mon itored by
a warning light
r:::') page 16.
Convertib le loc king retracto r
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mus t be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant information about this feature
c:;,page 141.
.&_ WARNING
Imprope rly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
¢page 108,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
108
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
¢page 143.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 117 Safety belt posit ion
-"' .... 9 I ... a,
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
s ize.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- height-adjustab le front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident .
- 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 t he chest so that it s its as low as pos­
sib le on the pe lvis and there is no p re ssure
on the a bdomen . The belt sho uld a lways f it
snug ly
c:;, fig. 117. Pull on the belt to tig hten
if necessary .
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never
over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c:;, fig. 117. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can ca use serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body ..,_

recommend that children a lway s sit in t he b ack
seat ~
page 132, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passen ger seat w ill be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat and chi ld
against t he backrest, center armrest, door
o r roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must i nstall a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on t he front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating posit ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your a uthorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious personal in jury to the child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man­
ufacturer fo r use on a fron t seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or ve ry near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in t he seat's fore and aft
adjus tme nt range, as f ar away from the ai r­
bag as possib le befo re instal ling the for­
wa rd -f acing child restra int . T he backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position .
Airbag sys tem
-Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght 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, pe rform t he checks desc ribed
c> page 122, Monitoring the Advan ced Air­
bag System.
- T ake the child restra int off t he front passen­
ge r seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear sea t positions i f the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does no t stay on .
- Have the ai rbag system inspec ted by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly .
- Always carefully f ollow ins truc tions from
chi ld restrain t manufacturers when instal ­
ling child restra ints .
A WARNING ~ -If, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in -
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper installation of child restrai nts can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
- An imprope rly installed child restra int can
inter fere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly 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 safety
seat or carr ier.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase t he total weight registered
by the weight-sensi ng mat and can cause in­
jury in a crash.
115

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 122
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 112.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat wi ll be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith 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 useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant c arrier with great force and
118
w ill smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the back rest, center armrest, door,
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child re­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating posi tion and have the ai rbag system
inspected by your au thori zed Au di dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcums tances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child res traint on the
front 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 fo rward -facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan ·
el.
-Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fo re and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all t he time
wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fro nt passenge r seat i n your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude t he weight­
sens ing mat, senso rs, wir ing, bracke ts, and
more . The f unction o f the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electro nic con­
tro l unit when the ignition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the airbag ind icator light on when a malfunction
i n the system components is detected. The func-
tion of the a irbag ind icator light is described in .,_

greater detail below. Because the front passen­
ger seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to pre ­
vent it from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the front
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sis ts
of the follo wing :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/decelerat io n 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
contro l unit "decides" whethe r to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de ­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight -sensing mat under the upho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat . The
information registered is sent continuously to
the e lectron ic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Adva need A irbag on the pas ­
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light i n the instrument cluster
¢ page 122.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent cont inuous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Adv a need A irbags.
- T he
PASS EN GE R AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 122, fig . 124 and tells you when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety belt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension on
Airb ag sys tem
the sa fety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat should be turned off or not¢
page 113, 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 belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it.
_& WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Imp roper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unctioning
p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop 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 o r remove par ts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sh arp objects in your pocke ts or
p lace them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work proper ly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in­
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store items 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
p roved by A udi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld
119

Airbag syste m
restraints or occupants on the front passen­
ger seat and prevent the side airbag in the
seat backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu­
rately reg istering the ch ild restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from funct ioning prope rly.
- 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 position the chi ld restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in­
stall child restrai nt in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
you r authorized Aud i deale r.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head re ­
stra ints to help reduce the r isk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations. Be sure to
read the important information about safety and heed the WARNINGS in th is chapter .
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
era tion as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the crash.
On the passenger s ide, regardless of safety belt
use, the a irbag will be t urned off if the weight on
the passenge r seat is less than the amount p ro­
g rammed in the e lectron ic cont rol unit . T he front
120
airbag on the passenger side will also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been
certified under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogn ized on the seat.
The
PAS SEN GER AI R BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on to te ll you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 113, Child restraints on the front seat ­
some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
f lates, always wear safety belts properly.
- I f you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position i n any way,
your ris k of injury is much highe r.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up against the
airbag or too close to i t when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
r::!;>page 112.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 123 Inflated front a irbags
Safety be lts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfo ld properly and prov ide sup­
plemental protection in a fronta l co llision.
The front airbags a re 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,
- t he seats have been positioned so that t he oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possib le
from the airbag,
Ill-

-and the head restraints have been properly ad -
justed.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of a n eye w ith
great for ce, things you have on you r lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro ­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in ­
flates.
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released .
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irr itate skin.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inj uries,
for example swell ing, bruising and minor abra­
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body . Front airbags only supplement the
three po int safety belts i n some fronta l co llisions
i n which the veh icle decelerat ion is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
F ront airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash decelerat ion measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit .
Th e front passeng er airbag will a lso not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the weight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi­
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned off by the electronic con­
trol unit (the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light
comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase the
r isk of se rious injury in c rashes.
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the risk of injury when the ai rbags
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 unbelted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be seriously in jur ed by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
Qpage 113.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
i nsta lled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be k illed if the front
a irbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant ca rrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rea rwa rd facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be ­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rea r-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your au thori zed A udi 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 p ushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area o f
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
121

Airbag syste m
-Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupholders, 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 objec ts. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front a ir­
bag dur ing braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The f ine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breath ing problems for people w ith a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
t ions.
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those w ith asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
gett ing out of the vehicle o r opening w in­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and fa ce with mild
soap and water befo re eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
o r into any cu ts or sc ratches.
- If the resid ue should get into yo ur eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
!f Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni­
toring indicator light and the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as well as the side airbags and side curtain airbags with eject ion
mit igat ion features ( including the electronic con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
122
monitored continuous ly to make sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ignition is
on . Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the airbag
monitoring indicator light
m will come on for a
few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
The system mu st be inspected wh en th e
indicat or light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driving.
If an airbag system malfunc tion is detec ted, the
indicator light will first start flashing to catch the
driver's attention and then stay on continuously
to serve as a constant rem inder to have the sys­
tem inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front air ­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protect ion
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag ind icator light
q page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will i nfla te when i t is no t sup­
posed to, or wi ll not inf late when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 12 4 Section from the inst rument panel: PASSENGER
&l N 9 ::::, CD m
AIR BAG OFF l ight ...

Airbag syste m
-the adu lt on the front passenger seat is proper ­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
c> page 96, Correct pas­
senger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their we ight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
th ings that may cause an incorrect read ing or
impression on the weight-sensing mat under
the upho lstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenge r seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenge r seat.
In addition to the
PA SSE NGER AIR BA G OFF
lig ht in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG ON
w ill briefly appear in the inst ru­
ment cluster display . T his is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop­
er ly cannot p rovide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light
c>page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, h ave
the system inspected immediate ly by yo ur
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not s up­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe­
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restra int
that has not been properly installed w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed .
124
-Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that a ll children, espec ia lly 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for their age and s ize.
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and s tay on, immedi ately ins tall the
rear-facing child safety seat in a re ar seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in ­
spected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- A t ight tether or other s trap on a rearward­
facing chi ld restraint attached to the front
passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat. The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as thoug h an adu lt
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even f atal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child res traint on
the front p assenge r seat, always move the
seat into i ts rearmost position in the sea t's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the ai rbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat afte r taking the steps
described above, make s ure the adult is
p roper ly sea ted and restra ined at one o f the
rear sea ting posit ions .
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer befo re t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.

Airbag syste m
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System
performs in a crash. For examp le, using t ire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lower ing the
veh icle, changing the stiffness of the suspens ion,
including the springs, suspension struts, shock
absorbers etc . can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
electronic control unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
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 deploy­ ing when it should.
A WARNING
Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same performance charac­
teristics as the components originally instal­
led o n your veh icle .
- Never use tire-rim comb inations that have
not been approved by Audi.
A WARNING
Items stored between the safety belt buckle
and the center console can cause the senso rs
in the buckle to send the wrong info rmation
to the electronic control module and prevent
t he Advanced Airbag System from wor king
properly.
- Always make sure tha t noth ing can interfere
with the safety be lt buck les and that they
are not obstructed.
126
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 125 S ide a irbag locat io n in the driver's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests ¢
fig. 125 facing the doors.
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG".
The sid e airbag system ba sically con sis t s o f:
- the electronic control module and external side
impact sensors
- the two a irbags located in the s ides of the front
backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus -
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electronica lly to
make certain that it is functioning properly at a ll
t imes. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air ­
bag system indicator light w ill come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's and front passenger's upper torso on
the side of the vehicle that is struck in a side co l­
li sion. The a irbag deploys only in side impacts
and only when the vehicle acceleration registered by the control unit is high enough. If this rate is
below the reference val ue programmed into the
contro l unit, the side airbags will not be trig-
gered, even though the car may be badly dam-
aged as a result of the collision. It is not possible
to define an airbag triggering range that will cov­ er every possible angle of impact, si nce the c ir­
cumstances w ill vary conside rably between one
collision and another . Important factors include, .,,.