warning light AUDI Q5 2013 Workshop Manual

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, child restraints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori­
ty number 1.
Always observe the information
and warnings in this section - for your own
safety as well as that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle . Some of the
features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the interest of your passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter­
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important infor­
mation will always be available to the
driver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find it easily if you have
questions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an
Driving Safely 139
accident. The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in your Audi :
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all
passenger seating positions,
- belt force limiters for the front seats,
- belt pretensioners for the seats,
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- head restraints for each seating position,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the front seats and outer rear
seats*,
- side curtain airbags,
- special LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to­ gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always correctly adjusted and cor­
rectly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occu­
pant safety always depends on the informed
and careful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen ­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals are op­
erating correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and
afford good visibility to the outside .
.,. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
qpage 76.
.,. Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir­
rors correctly for your height.
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height .
.,. Make sure to use the right child restraint
correctly to protect children ¢
page 178,
and~~~-~
•
•

140 Driving Safely
• Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page 61,
Gen eral recomm endations.
• Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passenge rs to fasten their
safety belts properly¢
page 149 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi­
t ion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
vehicle 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
9 .&,.
Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passen­
gers 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
pressure or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used.
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor­
tant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 152 Correc t seat ing position
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
following position:
• Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
while keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢,&. .
• 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
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be­
tween the steering wheel and your breast
bone ¢
fig. 152. If not possible, see your au­
thorized Audi dealer about adaptive equip­ ment.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer­
ing 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 restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 152.

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se­
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci­
dents . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
impa ired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating posit ions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
N ot wea ring safety belts or wea ring them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
perso nal i njur y an d deat h.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl ud ing s mall ch ild ren, into any belt . It is
e speci ally dangerous t o pl ac e a safety
bel t over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in t he ve hicle
th an there are s afe ty be lts availab le.
Safety belts 149
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and (on USA models only) front seat
passenger to remind you about the impor­
tance of buckling-up.
Fig . 155 Safety belt warni ng lig ht in the instr ument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, alway s:
~ Fasten your safety be lt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
~ Make sure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect your childre n w ith a child rest raint
sys tem app ropriate fo r the size a nd age of
t h e children.
The wa rning lig ht . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up when the ig nit ion is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safe ty belts. In addi­
tion, you will hea r a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure
that your pas sengers also properly put on
th eir safety belt s.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the s ingle mo st effec tive
means av ailable to redu ce th e ri sk of se­
rio us in ju ry and death in au tomobile acci ­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passengers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
•
•

150 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles.
Fig. 156 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 157 Th e vehicle c rash es into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy ."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this veh icle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 156, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 157 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at c ity 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 .
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was t ravell ing 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 col­
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 158 A d river not wea ring a safety b elt is viol en tly
thrown fo rwa rd
Fig . 159 A rear passe nge r not wearing a safety belt
w ill fl y forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of i mpac t by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems , the unrestrained
ll-

To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly
c::> page 61, General recommenda­
tions .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly ac ross the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::>fig. 161.
... Pu ll on t he be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. T his fea­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::> page 15.
Sw itchable locking feature
E very sa fety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read the important information about this
feature
c::> page 188.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
o::> page 153, Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protect ion
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 153
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger w ill move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach th e safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat . Atta ching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce s afety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain ­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c::> page 190.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 162 Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.

160 Airbag sys te m
For this reason, a nd because t he bac k seat is
the safest place for children - when prop erly
restra ined according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 178, Child Safety.
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
t he front a irbag inflates - even wit h an Ad­
v a nced Airb ag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you mus t inst all a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER 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 system inspected by you r
au thorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal ­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfer e wi th the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always m ake su re the forw ard-fa cing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufact urer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re ­
st raint up aga inst or very near the inst ru­
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft ad
justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
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
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed
¢ page 168, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on.
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward or rearwa rd -facing child
r estra int on t he front passenger's seat :
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
p revent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch il d restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as it de­
p loys and seriously injure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advance d Airbag
System.
- Always caref ully follow the m anu factur ­
er 's ins truc tio ns p rov ided with the ch ild
safety sea t or carrier .

Fo r exa mple, the airbag may depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 180),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off , the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w il l come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the sea t is on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk " deployment criteria to help re­
duce the risk of inj ury through in teraction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de ­
celerations as defined in the electronic control unit.
¢ page 168
Alway s remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in-
A irbag system 163
flates - even with an Advanced Ai rbag
¢page 157 .
_&. WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System .
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been instal led on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso­
lutely guaran tee that dep loymen t is im ­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen during the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door, or roof .
-Always install rearward -facing chi ld re ­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fa cing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make s ure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru-
ment panel.
~
•
•

164 Airbag sys te m
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger sea t in your vehicle h as a
lot of very important par ts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include t he
weight -sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more. 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 turns the airbag indicator
l ight on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected. The func tion of the
a ir bag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l be low . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System abou t the seve rity of the crash.
- An electron ic co ntrol unit, with integ rated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit "dec ides " w het her to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whethe r the safety be lt
pretensioners should be activated . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river inside the steer­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag with gas ge nerator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the up ho lstery
pad ding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic contro l unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­ bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitor ing system and i ndicator
light in the i nstr ument cluster ~
page 168 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat a nd the
steer ing whee l o r i ns trument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuously to
t he ele ctr onic cont ro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
~ page 168, fig . 169 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
~ pag e 158, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w het he r th at safety bel t is latched or
not and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-

-Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenger and driver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning 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 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-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child 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 . The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re-
Airbag system 165
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. The amount of infla­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front sea t position, depending on the
distance between the respective front seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel as registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity 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, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe-
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR .,,.
•
•

166 Airbag system
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
c> page 158, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
c>page 157.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig . 168 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can u nfo ld properly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a frontal co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d ition al protect ion for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenge r when :
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is proper ly seated as far as possi­
ble from t he a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap or have p
laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be pushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irritate skin .
It is important to remembe r that while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
only supp lement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l co llisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is high eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
-if the ignition is sw itched off whe n a c rash
occurs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit.
The front pa ssenge r airbag will al so not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occ u­
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 un it (the
PASSENGER A IR
BAG OFF
l ight comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can in cre ase
the r is k of se rious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury w he n t he air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passenge rs