weight AUDI Q7 2012 Owner´s Manual

188 Airbag system
firs t a nd second stages deploy a lmost at the
same time.
O n the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount prog rammed in the electronic control
un it. The front a irbag 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
recogn ized on the seat. The
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 181, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
~ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serio us inju ries 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
o page 179.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 198 Inflated front a irbags
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 supplemental protection in a frontal col­ lision. T
he front airbags are designed to provide ad ­
ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- t he seats have bee n positioned so that the
occ upan t is prope rly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly
ad justed
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
o r have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous p ro jecti les, and be p ushed in to you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T h is is no rma l and is not caused by a fire i n
the ve hicle. This dust is made up mos tly of a
powde r used to lubricate the ai rbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate skin.
It i s impo rtant to remember that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood o f se rious injur ies, other
injuries , for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor ab rasions, can also happen when air ­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
supplement the three-point safety belts only i n some fronta l col lisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is h igh eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollove rs
- when the crash dece lerat ion meas ured by
the air bag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the elect ronic contro l unit
The front pass enger airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied .,.

-when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front airbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on)
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
riously injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c> page 181.
A 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 Ad­
vanced 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 circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
Airbag system 189
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
or by being pushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area
of the front passenger seat . Objects
could move into the area of the front air­
bags during braking or other sudden ma­
neuvers and become dangerous projec­
tiles that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined.
- Never tilt the front passenger seat back­
rest forward when the vehicle is moving.
An inflating airbag will force the back­
rest backward and can injure rear seat oc­
cupants.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing problems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing conditions.
-
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory
.___ c_ o_ n_ d_ it_ i_o _ ns_ sh_o_ u_ l_ d _:g:_ e_ t _f_re _s_ h_ a_ i_r _ri ..:::g :....h _t __
_J ~
•
•

190 Airbag sys tem
aw ay by getting out of the vehicle or
opening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
dep loy, wash your hands and face w ith
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into yo ur
eyes, or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator Light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System (includ ing the
e lectronic control un it, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored cont inuo usly to
make sure that it is functioning properly
wheneve r the ignit io n is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitoring in­
d icator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagno stics) .
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when t he ignit io n is
swi tched on
- does not go out a few seconds afte r you
have swi tched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile d riving
If an airbag system malfunct ion is detected,
the ind icator light will fi rst start flash ing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to se rve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on and stay
on whenever the ign ition is on.
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
w rong with t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that t he a irbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, o r will not in­
fla te w hen it sho uld.
- H ave the airbag system inspected imme­
d iate ly by yo ur a uthorize d Aud i dea le r.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fi g. 199 Sec tion fro m the instr um ent pa nel: PASSEN­
G ER AIR BAG O FF ligh t
-
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is loca ted
in the center of the inst rument pane l
~fig. 199.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
o n a nd stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side has been
turned off by the electronic contro l unit. Each
t ime yo u turn on t he ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenge r seat is not
occ upied
- wi ll stay on if t here is a small chi ld or child
restraint on the front passenger seat
- will go out i f the front passenger seat is oc­
cupie d by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the igni tion is on and ..,.

-a car bed has been insta lled on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -facing child restraint has been in­
sta lled on the front passenge r seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passen­
ger seat is equa l to or less than the com­
bined weight of a typical 1 year -old restrain­
ed in one of the rear-fac ing or forward-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the
Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
P A S­
S ENGER AIR BA G OF F
light w ill stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward -fac ing ch ild restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any ki nd of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
~ page 181, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 200, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
o n
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light stays on continuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PA SSE NGER 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
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly routed throug h the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufactu rer's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
tu re on the safety be lt fo r the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the sa fety belt has been pulled tight. The bel t
mus t not be loose o r have loops of slack so
A irbag system 19 1
that the sensor below the sa fety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
~ page 209.
- make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the child and chi ld safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure t hat the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seatback and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight -se nsing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat .
If the P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light still
do es not come on
and does not stay on con­
tinuously (whe n the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Aud i dealer
immed iate ly.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the ch ild is properly restra in­
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its size and age.
The
PAS SENG ER A IR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignit ion is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
t h e front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on o r
flashes fo r about 5 seconds wh ile d riving, un ­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that :
- the adult on t he front passenge r seat is
prope rly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion with his o r he r back up ag ainst the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
~ page 161, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support-
ing their weight on the armrest, .,_
•
•

192 Airbag sys tem
-the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
t h ings that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upholstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENG ER AIR BA G OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluste r display . T his is to in­
form the drive r of the current front passenger
a ir bag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light comes on, it
means that the re may be someth ing
wrong with the Advanced A irbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut
a child restra int, or in a rearward-facing
child safety seat, or in a forward -facing
child restraint that has not been properly
installed will be seriously injured and can
be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make
certain that a ll children , especially 12
years and younge r, a lways ride on the back seat properly
restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward o r 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 because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appea r and stay on, imme­
diate ly install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspe cted by your au­
thori zed A udi dealer.
- A tight tether or other s trap on a rea r­
ward-facing child restraint att ached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch p ressure on the weight-sensing
mat in the seat and registe r more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to t he ch ild.
- If, i n exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust ins tall a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint o n the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the sea t in to its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as fa r away from the airbag
as possible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright pos ition. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
--
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an ad ult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps descr ibed above, make su re the
ad ult is properly seated a nd restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re tr ans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
...

(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off, and the
PASS ENGER AIR B AG
OFF light w ill stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, serv icing o r repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
ai rbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impai red and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
-Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag from deploy ing when needed or deploying
an airbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument pane l or modify them
in any way .
- Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag uni ts.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
pane l, use only a soft, d ry clo th or one
moistened w ith plain water. Solvents or
cl eaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repa ir, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system.
- All wo rk on the stee ring wheel, inst ru ­
ment pane l, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (incl uding the installation of aud io
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
A irbag system 193
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualif ied technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that yo u see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholste ry over the front se at­
backs tha t have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use addi tional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side ai rbags
inflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side ai r­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Aud i
dea ler or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
specia l equipment necessary .
- The airbag system can be deployed only once . After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace­
ment pa rts designed and approved espe­
cially fo r you r A udi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be pe r­
formed by qualified workshops on ly .
Make sure that any airbag serv ice action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet unde r
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD .
-For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated
from the veh icle ba ttery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit inte rrupte r.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inte r­
r upter m ust only be performe d by a
qualified dea ler -risk of an accident! •
•

-Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates .
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cupholders, tele­
phone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat
backrests.
- Such objects and accessories can be­
come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air­
bag deploys .
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other
passengers to travel in this position .
- Always use the built -in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air­
bag dep loyment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be­
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat­
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once.
If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au­
thorized Audi dealership .
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must
always be repaired immediately by an au­
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ~ page 200, Child Safety .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor­ rectly measure increasing air pressure in ­
side the doors when air escapes through
Airbag system 197
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive with interior door trim pan­
els removed .
- Never drive when parts have been re­
moved from the inside door panel and
the open ings they leave have not been
properly closed.
- Never drive when loudspeakers in the
doors have been removed unless the
speaker holes have been properly
closed.
- Always make certain that openings are
covered or filled if additional speakers
or other equipment is installed in the inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by
an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbags can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained oc ­
cupants .
Fig. 202 Side curta in a irbags, driver's s ide: locatio n
The side c urtain airbags are located on both
sides of the interior above the front and rear
side windows ~ fig. 202 . They ar e identified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof pillar .
The side curtain airbag system supplements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision. The side cur tain airbag ..,.

vehicle that is struck in a side collision
~ fig . 203.
When the system is tr iggered , the side c urtain
airbag is filled with propellant gas and breaks
through a seam above the front and rear side
windows identified by the AIRBAG label. In or­
der to help provide this additional protection,
the side curtain airbag must inflate within the
blink of an eye at very high speed and w ith
great force. The side curtain airbag cou ld in ­
jure you if your seat ing pos ition is not proper
or upright or if items are located in the area
where the suppleme nta l side cu rtain airbag
in flates . This appl ies espec ia lly to childre n
~ page 200.
Although they are not a soft pillow, side cur­
tain airbags can "cushion" the impact and in
this way they ca n he lp to reduce the r isk of in­
jury to the head and the upper part of the
body .
A fi ne dust may develop when the airbag de­
p loys. Th is is quite normal and does not mea n
there is a fire in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the
side curtain airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must know and do to help the safety be lts and
airbags do the ir job to provide supplementa l
protection.
A WARNING
Improperly wear ing safety belts and im­
proper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death when­
ever a veh icle is being used .
- Never let occupants p lace any parts of
their bodies in the a rea from wh ich the
side cu rtain airbags inflate.
- Always make sure that the side curta in
airbags can inflate w ithout interference.
Uns uitable accessories fitted inside the
A irbag system 199
expansion range of a s ide curtain airbag
can dangero usly interfere w ith its f unc­
tion. A deploying head airbag develops
enough force to catapu lt any p iece of
add-on component out of its path of in­
f lation and into the passenge r compart­
ment. An occupant h it by s uch a projec­
tile can suffer serio us inju ry or death
~ page 322, Te chnical Modifications.
- Do not swive l the sun visors to the side i f
you have any ob jects clipped onto them
(for examp le pens) . If the airbag should
deploy, you could be injured by these ob­
jects .
- Use the bui lt - in coat hooks only for ligh t­
weight clothing . Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag dep loyment
and can cause personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Never use hangers to hang clothing from
the hooks.
- On ly use factory-installed sun shades or,
in the case of shades installed after the
veh icle leaves the factory, only Audi roll­
up sunscreens may be used
~ page 321,
Additional accessories and parts re­
placement.
- Always sit in proper seat ing pos ition and
wear safety belts wh ile traveling so that
the side cu rtain airbag s can he lp p rov ide
protec tion.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once . If the airbag has been triggered,
the system mus t be rep lace d by an au ­
thorized A udi dealer or qualified work ­
shop .
- Always have wor k involving the side cu r­
tain airbag system, removal and installa ­
tion of the airbag components, or ot her
repairs per formed by an authorized Audi
dea ler or qualified works hop. Otherwise
the airbag system may not work co rrect­
ly.
- Never attempt to mod ify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
•
•

200 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your ve hicle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 172, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adu lts and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly deve loped . In many respects chi ldren are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
ad ults.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more t han
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Unde r these conditions,
only an appropria te ch ild restrai nt properly
used c an reduce the risk of ser ious inju ry.
Chi ld restra ints, like adult safety belts, mus t
be used properly to be effective . Used improp­
e rly, they can increase the risk of serious in ­
jury in an acc ident.
Consul t the child safety seat manufactu re r's
instr uctions in order to be sure the seat is
right fo r you r ch ild's size ~
page 203, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important informat ion and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
i nstallation of child r estraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
wo rk whe n infants and children i n child re- stra
ints are on the front passenger seat . Be­
ca use of the large amount of impo rtant infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detai led information in t his
owner 's ma nual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very importa nt information about transport­
ing ch ildr en on the fro nt passenge r seat.
Please be su re to heed the WAR NINGS -they
are extremely import ant for yo ur safe ty and
the safety o f your passenge rs, especially in­
f ants and small children .
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally sa fer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
de r in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
d ren must be restrai ned properly when­
eve r riding in a vehicle. An unrest rained
or improp erly restrained chi ld co uld be
in jur ed by str iking the i nterior o r by be­
i n g ejected from the vehicle dur ing a
sud den maneuve r o r i mpac t. An un re­
s traine d or improperly restrained ch ild is
also at greater risk of injury o r death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable c hild restrai nt properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seat ing
positions prov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
wi th Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
j u red or even kil led when an airbag in­
flates. A chi ld in a rearwa rd-fac ing c hild
safety seat in sta lled on t he fro nt passen­
ger sea t will be ser iously injure d and ca n
b e killed if t he front airbag inflates .
- T he infla ting air bag will h it the chi ld
safety sea t or infan t carrie r wi th great
force and wi ll smash the child safe ty seat
an d chi ld aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, or door.
II>-

-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 in 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 air­
bag system inspected immediately by
your 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
Child Safety 201
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates . In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­ cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and si ze. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat .
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight -sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight -sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the ..,.
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