instrument panel AUDI Q7 2011 Owner´s Manual

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=> page 202, fig. 190, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops them
- here, the wall =>
page 202, fig. 191.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is
involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30
to SO km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000
lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher .
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash . Of course,
the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they deter­
mine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions.•
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig. 192 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is violently thrown
forward
Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Fig. 193 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=> fig. 192. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not supposed
to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is equipped
with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehicle
where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=> fig . 193. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

& WARNING (continued)
• Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument
panel or sticking out the window or on the seat.
• Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
• Never wear belts twisted.
• Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your
clothing, such as eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware.
• Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or
otherwise out of position .
• Several layers of heavy clothing may interfere with correct
positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the
system.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
buckle from latching securely.
• Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the
shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint systems.
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt hard­
ware can break in an accident. Inspect belts regularly. If webbing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are damaged, have belts replaced
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Safety belts that have been worn and loaded in an accident
must be replaced with the correct replacement safety belt by an
authorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be necessary even if
damage cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that were loaded
must also be inspected.
• Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
& WARNING (continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel=>
page 289,
"Safety belts". •
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 195 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To provide maximum protection , safety belts must always be
positioned correctly on the wearer's body.
- Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=>
page 85 , "General recommendations" .
- Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is in an
upright position and securely latched in place before using
the belt =>& .
- Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis=>& . _,.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

Airbag system -----------------=--=---
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=>
page 192,
- Adjust the front passenger's seat properly=> page 86,
-Wear safety belts properly=> page 204,
-Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children=>
page 233.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force. The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. Therefore in
order to help the airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a driver
and as a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =:,
page 192, "Proper occupant seating positions" . For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 86.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=:,
page 233.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
There
is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system .
Proper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or condi­
tion that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat with
the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-800-822-
2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator will fill the airbags,
break open the padded covers, and inflate between the steering
wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel and the front
passenger . The airbags will deflate immediately after deployment so
that the front occupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they deploy . Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement .
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside of the vehicle while reducing the
forces acting on the occupant during the crash. In this way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash .
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal collisions . The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control unit.
If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the control
unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, repair
9J),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system
----
--=----------------
costs o r ev en t he lack of v ehicle da mage is no t necessar ily an ind ica ­
t ion of whe the r an a irbag should inflat e or not.
S ince th e cir cums tances will vary cons idera bly betw een one co llision
and another, it is not possible to define a range o f vehicle spee ds that
w ill co ver eve ry p oss ible kin d and a ngle o f im pact th at w ill alw ay s
tri gg er the a irba gs. Im portant facto rs inclu de, for examp le, the
n at ure (h ard or s oft) of th e obje ct whi ch th e c ar hits , th e ang le of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front air bags will also not inflate in
s ide or r ear coll isions , or in roll-ove rs.
Always remember: Airbags w ill deploy only once, an d on ly in certa in
kinds of co llisio ns. Your safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec­
t ion in those s ituatio ns in which airbags ar e no t sup pose d to d eploy,
or w hen they have alrea dy de ploye d; for examp le, when your ve hicl e
st rike s or is st ruc k b y ano ther veh icle a fter t he first collision .
T hi s is just one of the reasons w hy an airbag is a s upplementa ry
restra in t a nd is no t a su bst itute for a safe ty bel t. Th e air bag sy stem
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts . Therefore,
always p rope rly wear y ou r safety belts => page 20 1.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the
steering wheel, investigate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating
distance from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sideways or
out of position in any way , your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag.
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly=>
page 205, "Safety belts ".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag infl ates .
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly.
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel =>
page 192.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent seriou s injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects .
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced .
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the neces sary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled a irbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •

........ _A_ ir_ b_ a-=g :..- s.:o.y _s _t _e_ m _______________________________________________ _
defined in the elect ronic contro l unit~ page 223, "PASSE NGER AIR
BA G OFF l ight ".
Always r emembe r, a c hild safety seat o r infa nt ca rr ie r i nsta lled on th e
fro nt seat may be struc k and k noc ke d out of position by t he ra pidly
i nflat ing pass enge r's air ba g in a fr ontal c oll ision. Th e airba g could
g reat ly re duce the effectiveness o f th e ch ild restraint an d even seri­
ousl y injur e th e child d uring inf lation .
For this r easo n, and b eca use the back seat is th e sa fest plac e for chil­
dre n -whe n pro per ly restra ined acc ordin g to their age and size -we
s tr ong ly r ecommen d that childr en a lways sit in the back s eat
~ pa ge 233, "Child S afety".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• 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 rear-facing child safety seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front
passenger's seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag
and cause serious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If , in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child
restraint is installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition
is switched on .
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on, perform
the checks described
~ page 222, " Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on .
• Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer immediately.
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu­
facturers when installing child restraints.
& WARNING
If , in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger 's seat:

........ _A_ ir_ b_ a-=g :..- s.:o.y _s _t _e_ m _______________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nued)
• Airbag work mo st effectivel y when us ed with p roperly worn
safety belts .
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your veh icle is properly restrained .
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , especially infants and small
c hildren, will receive seriou s injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the a irbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger a irbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger seat, nobody can absolutely
guarantee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
• The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in a ccordance with the
" low risk" option under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
hea vier than the t ypical one-year old child is on the front
passeng er seat and the other condition s for airbag deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position .
• For their own safety, all children , especially 12 years and
younger, should always ride in the back properly res trained for
their age and size. •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance wit h Unit ed St ates Fe d er al Motor Vehi cle Safe ty Standar d
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was manufactured . The front Advanced A
irbag System supplements the safety belts to
prov ide ad ditional prote ct ion for th e d river's and front passenger's
heads and uppe r bodies in fro nta l crashes. The ai rbags i nflate only in
fronta l impacts when the vehicle dece leration is high enoug h.
Th e front Adva nced A irbag Sys tem for the fron t seat oc cupan ts is not
a s ubstitute for your safety be lts. Rathe r, it is part o f the overall occu­
p an t restr aint sy stem in y our ve hicl e. Always remembe r that the
airbag system ca n only help to protect you, if you are sitting upr ight,
we aring your sa fe ty be lt and we aring it prope rly. T his is why you and
your passengers must always be properly restra ined, not just because
t he law requires you to be.
Th e A dvan ced A irbag Syst em in your veh icle has been c ertified to
meet the "low r isk" req uir ements fo r 3 an d 6 year-old c hildren on the
pas senge r side and ve ry small ad ults o n the dr ive r side. T he low r is k
dep loyment cr iteria a re intended to help reduce the risk of injury
t hroug h in teraction wi th the front a irbag tha t can oc cur, fo r ex am ple,
by being too close to the steering wheel and instrument panel whe n
t he air bag i nflates .
In add it ion , the system has been cert ified to comply with t he
"supp ression" requirements of the Safety Standa rd, to t urn off the
front airbag for infants 12 mont hs old and young er w ho are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child restra ints that are
listed in the Standard=>
pag e 235, "Child restra ints and A dvan ced
Airbags".
"Su pp ression" req uires t he front a irbag on the passenger side to be
t ur ned off if:
• a child up to about one year of age is restra ined on the front
passenge r seat in one of t he rear-faci ng or forwa rd-facing infant
restraints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h
w hich the Adv anced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle w as ce rt ified. Fo r a
list ing of the child restra ints that were used to certify your vehicle's
c omp li a nce with the US Safety Stand ard =>
page 235,
• weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the contro l unit is
detec ted on t he fro nt p assenger se at.

........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
& WARNING (conti nued)
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately ins tall the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger 's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat 's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible, before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignit ion is switched on .•
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot of very important
parts o f the Advanced A irba g System in it. These parts incl ude t he
we igh t-sens ing ma t, sensors, wiring, brackets, and more. The func­
t ion o f th e sys tem in the fron t passenger sea t is chec ked by the elec ­
tron ic control unit w hen the ignit ion is on . The contro l u ni t mo nitors
the Advanced Airbag System and tu rns the airbag indicator light on
w hen a malfunct ion in t he system components is de tected. The func­
tion of the a irbag indicator light is descr ibed in greater detail below.
Be cau se the fr ont p assenge r se at con tain s im po rt an t p arts of th e
Advanced Airbag System, you m ust take care to prevent it from being damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced A
irbag for
t he fro nt passenge r se at from do ing its job in a cr ash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists of the
following:
• Cras h sensors in the front of t he veh icle that measure vehicle
a cc ele ra tion/de ce le ra tion to prov ide i nform ation to the Adv ance d
Airbag System about the severity of the crash .
• An e lec tron ic contro l uni t, w it h in tegr ate d cr ash sensor s fo r fron t
and side impacts. T he control unit "dec ides" w het her to fire the front
a irbags based on the info rm at ion rece ive d fr om t he c rash se nso rs.
The contro l unit also "decides" whether the safety be lt prete nsione rs
shoul d be activa ted .
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the driver inside the
s t eeri ng wheel hub.
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside the inst rument
p an el f or the front p assenge r.
• A weight-sensin g mat under the upho lstery padd ing of the front
passe nge r seat c ushion t hat measu res the tota l we ight on the sea t.
T he informat io n registered is sent cont inuously to the elect ronic
con trol uni t to reg ula te deploymen t of t he fr ont Adv anced A irbag o n
the passenger side.
• An airbag mo nitoring syste m and indi cator light in the inst ru m ent
cl uster ~
page 222.
• Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light com es on an d stays on in t he
center of the instr ument pane l=>
page 223, fig . 203 a nd tells you
w hen the fron t Advan ced A irbag on t he passe nger side has been
turned off.
• A senso r below t he saf ety belt la tc h for the front s eat p ass enge r
to meas ure the tens ion on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt a nd the we igh t regis tere d by the weig ht-sensing mat help t he
cont rol un it "dec ide" w hethe r th e front airbag fo r th e front
p assenge r seat should be turned o ff or not~
page 213, "Ch ild
restraints on the front seat -some important th ings to know" . ._

Airbag system -----------------=--=---
& WARNING (continued)
possible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or
will not inflate when it should.
• Have the airbag system inspected immediately by your autho·
rized Audi dealer. •
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 203 Section from
the instrument panel:
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located in the center of the
instrument panel=> fig. 203.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off by the electronic control unit. Each time you turn on the
ignition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will flash for a few
seconds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied
• will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front
passenger seat
• will go out if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
registered by the weight-sensing mat
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come on and stay on if the
ignition is on and
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
• a car bed has been installed on the front seat, or
• a rearward-facing child restraint has been installed on the front
passengerseat,or
• a forward-facing child restraint has been installed on the front
passengerseat,or
• the weight registered on the front passenger seat is equal to or
less than the combined weight of a typical 1 year-old restrained in
one of the rear-facing or forward-facing 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will stay on. Never
install a rearward -facing child restraint on the front passenger seat,
the safest place for a child in any kind of child restraint is at one of the
seating positions on the rear seat=>
page 213, "Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to know" and=>
page 233,
"Child Safety ".
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when one of the
conditions listed above is met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light stays on
continuously whenever the ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear on and does not stay on all the time, stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and
• reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning
it on again;
• remove and reinstall the child restraint . Make sure that the child
restraint is properly installed and that the safety belt for the front
passenger seat has been correctly routed through the child restraint
as described in the child restraint manufacturer 's instructions;
• make sure that the convertible locking feature on the safety belt
for the front passenger seat has been activated and that the safety
belt has been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or have loops
of slack so that the sensor below the safety belt latch on the seat can
do its job=>
page 243. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-L___:_A~ i r'....: b~ a ::::: gL:: s~y -=s ::..:t :.:e :..: m..:..:.. ______________________________________________ _
• make sure that thi ngs that may increase the weig ht o f the child
and ch ild safe ty se at are not be ing transported on t he front
passenger seat;
• make sure that the safety belt tens ion sensor is not blocked.
Shake the safety belt latch on the front passenger seatback and forth;
• If a strap or tether is being used to t ie the child safety seat to the
front passenger seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it causes
t he weight-sensing mat to meas ure more weight than is actua lly on
the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight still doe s not come on and
does not stay on cont inuously (when the ignition is switched on),
• take the child restraint off the f ront passenger seat and install it
properly at one of the rear seat positions . Have the airbag sys tem
inspected by your authori zed Audi dealer immediately .
• move the child to a rea r seat position and ma ke s ure that the child
is properly restrained in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for its
size and age .
The
PA SSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light should NOT come on when the
ignition is on and an adult is sitting i n a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on or flashes for abo ut 5 seconds while driving, under these
circumstances, make sure that:
• the adult on the front passenger seat is properly seated on the
c en ter of the sea t cushion wi th his or her back up against the backrest
and the backrest is not reclined::::;,
page 192, "Proper occupant
seating positions",
• the adult is not taking weight off the seat by holding on to the
passenge r assis t handle above the fron t passenger door or
supporting their weight on the armrest,
• t he safety bel t is be ing properly wor n and that the re is not a lot of
slack in the safety belt webb ing,
• accessory seat cove rs or cushions o r othe r th ings that may ca use
an incor rect read ing or impress ion on the weight-sensing mat under the upholstery of the seat have bee
n removed from the front
p assenge r seat,
• a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for
t he front passenge r se at.
In add it io n to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of the
instrument panel, the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON will br iefly appear in the instrument cluster
display . This is to inform the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status .•
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
& WARNING
An a irbag syst em that is not fun ction ing properly cannot provide
supplemental protect ion in a frontal crash.
• If th e airbag indic ator light comes on , it means th at there may
be something wrong with the Advanc ed Airbag S ystem . It i s
poss ible that th e airbag will inflat e when it is not suppos ed to , or
will not inflate when it should.
• Have the a irb ag system inspected immediately by your autho ­
rized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If the front airb ag inflate s, a child without a child restraint, or in
a rearwa rd -facing child safet y seat, o r in a fo rwa rd-facing child
re straint that h as not b een properl y install ed will be seriou sly
i njured and can b e killed.
• Even though your v ehicl e is equipped with an Advan ced Airbag
S y stem , ma ke certain that all children , especi ally 1 2 yea rs and
y ounger, alway s ride on the back seat properly restra ined for their
a ge and size . .,,_

Airbag system Ill
----------------=--=---
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Always install forward or rear-facing child safety seats on the
rear seat - even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• If you must install a rearward-facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circum stances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not appear and stay on ,
immediately install the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating pos ition and have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
• A tight tether or other strap on a rearward-facing child
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 though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advan ced Airbag when it must be suppres sed
caus ing serious or e ven fatal injury to the child.
• If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward ­
facing child restraint on the front passenger seat, always move
the seat into its rearmost position in the seat' s fore and aft adju st­
ment range , as far away from the airbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position. Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light doe s not go out when an
adult is sitting on the front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posit ions.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transporting anyone on the front passenger seat.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
(I] Tips
If the we
ight-se nsin g mat in the fro nt passenge r seat detec ts a n
empty seat , the front airbag on the passenger s ide will be t urned off,
a nd the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will sta y on .
a
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the ai rbag syste m are inst alled a t many diffe re nt pla ces on
your Audi. Installing, removing, serv ic ing o r repairing a part in a n
area of t he vehicle c an damage a par t of an a irbag sys tem and preve nt
that system from working proper ly in a coll is ion.
Th ere are some importa nt things you have to know to ma ke sure t hat
t he effectiv eness of the system will not be impai red and that
discarde d components do not cause injury or pollute t he env iron ­
m en t.
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing an airbag from
deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
• Never cover, obstru ct, or change the steering wheel horn pad or
a irbag cover or the instrument panel or modify them in any way .
• Never atta ch any objects such as cupholders or telephone
mountings to the surfaces covering the airbag units .
• For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft,
dry cloth or one moistened with plain wate r. Solvents or cleaners
c ould damage the airbag cover or change the stiffne ss or strength
of the mater ial so that the airbag cannot deploy and protect prop­
erly.
• Never repair, adjust , or change any parts of the airbag system .
• All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel, front seats
or electrical system (including the installation of audio equip -
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Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data