warning light AUDI Q7 2013 Owner´s Manual

166 Driving Safel y
• Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height.
• Make sure to use the right child restra int
correct ly to protect children<=>
page 205,
Child Safe ty .
• Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
you r passenge rs do the same<=>
page 71 ,
General recomm endations .
• Fasten your safety bel t an d wear it properly.
Also ins truc t you r passengers to f aste n t heir
sa fety belts properly
<=> page 175.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving i s directly rela ted to the condi­
t ion of the vehicle , the driver as well as the
driver 's abili ty to concentrate on the road
without being distracted .
The driver is responsib le fo r the s afety of the
ve hicl e an d all of i ts occupants . If you r ability
to d rive is impai red, safety r is k s for everybody
i n the vehicle increase and yo u also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road <=>
&_.
Therefore:
• Do no t let yo urself be dist racted by passen ­
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
• NEV ER drive when yo ur dr iv ing ability is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol , drugs, etc.).
• Observe all traffic laws , rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
• ALWAYS adjust you r speed to road , traff ic
and weathe r con dit ions .
• Take frequent b reaks on long t rips. Do not
dr ive for more than two hours a t a str etch .
• Do NOT drive whe n you are t ired , 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
t ant for safe, relaxed driving.
Fi g. 1 95 Correc t seat ing posit ion
For yo ur own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom­
mend that you adjust t he driver's seat to the
fo llow ing pos ition:
• Ad just the driver's seat so that you can easi­
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
while keepi ng your knee(s) slightly bent
¢ &_ .
• Adjust the a ngle of the seatback so that it is
in an upr ight position so that your back
comes in full conta ct w ith it when you d rive.
• Adjust t he steer ing whee l so that there is a
d is tance of at least 1 0 inches (2 5 cm) be ­
t ween the steer ing whee l and yo ur breast
bone ~
fig. 195. If not possible, see your a u­
thorized A udi dealer about adaptive equip ­
ment.
• Adjust the steer ing whee l so that t he steer­
ing wheel and airbag cover poi nts at your
ch est and not at your face .
• Grasp the top of the s teer ing wh ee l with
your elb ow(s) slightly ben t.
• Adjust t he head rest rain t so th e up per edge
is as even as possible wi th th e top of y our
head . If that is not poss ible, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this pos ition as possib le .
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
<=>page 179.

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
... Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more like ly to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Vehicles with five seats: Your vehicle has two
front seats and three rear seats. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
Vehicles with six seats:* Your vehicle has two
front seats, two seats in the second row and two seats in the third row. Each seating posi­
tion has a safety belt .
Vehicles with seven seats:* Your vehicles has
two front seats, three seats in the second row and two seats in the third row. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
Safety belts 175
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
be lt over a child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available .
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
Fig. 198 Safety bel t warn ing ligh t in the instru ment
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, always:
... Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
"' Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety belts.
"' Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the s ize and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi ­
tion, you will hear a warning tone for a certain
period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
•
•

17 6 S afet y belt s
_&. WARNING
-Sa fety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- 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. 199 Unbe lted occupants in a ve hicle h ead ing for a
wall
Fig. 2 00 Th e ve hicle c ras hes into the w all
The physical principles are simple . Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en ­
ergy.''
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the g reater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" i n 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 vehicle a re not
us ing sa fety belts ~
fig. 199, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until someth ing
stops them -here , the wa ll
Q fig. 200.
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 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs. o r 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 veh icle was t ravell ing just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of acc idents and col­
lis ions .

damaged, have belts replaced by an au­
thorized 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. Replace­
ment 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 be lts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the funct ion of the inertia reel
¢ page 254, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!

Fig. 204 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 71, 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 ¢&, .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
<=> fig . 204.
Safety belts 179
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
ic be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This fea­
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during 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 function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
must be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
<=> page 215.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious injury in an accident
c>page 180, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger will move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
~

186 Airbag sys tem
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the impo rtant in forma tion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
Q page 205.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
ch ild in a fo rward-faci ng ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very da ngerous place for a n infan t or
a child in a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cer tified to comply with the require­
men ts of Uni ted States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a c hild up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward-facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that we re used to certi fy complia nce
with the US Safety Sta ndard
Q page 207.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on t he passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you tur n on the ignition, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on if there is a small child or child
rest raint on the front passenger seat -
w ill go off i f the front passenge r seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registere d by the
weight -sensing mat
r::!) page 195, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the contro l unit detects a tota l weight
on the front passenger seat that req uires the
front a irbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
c hi ld b ut less than the we ight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on , the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
bee n tur ned off by the elec tronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the con ditions stored i n its
memo ry .
For exampl e, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is in one of
t he child safety seats listed
<:!) page 207), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ume nt cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- re cli ned ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle f loor in front of the sea t is on the front
passenge r seat
c::> page 1 66, Proper sea ting
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ral Standard req uires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
the risk of injury t hro ugh interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions ..,_

as defined in the electronic control unit
¢ page 195, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a chi ld safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of position by the rap ­
id ly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . The airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflat ion.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest p lace for children -when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and si ze - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat¢
page 205, Child Safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fron t airbag inf lates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
sa fety seat or infant carrier w it h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Aud i dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfere with the deployment of the air­
b ag and cause serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
WARNING
If, in exceptional c ir c umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
A irbag system 187
-Always ma ke sure 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.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in t he seat's fore and
aft adj ustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
backrest mu st be a dju ste d to an upright
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light wi ll be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed ¢
page 195, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he 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
li g ht 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 r estraint manufa cture rs when in­
s tall ing c hild restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstan ces, you must
ins tall a forward or rearw ard-facing c hild
restra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Imp roper ins tal lation o f ch ild restraints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even
•
•

190 Airbag sys tem
If the tota l weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld,
but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy 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 207),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt o r teenager is o n the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standa rd requires the airbag to meet
the " low ris k'' deployment criteria to help re ­
duce the risk of inj ury through interaction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de ­
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it.
¢ page 195
Alway s remember : Even though yo ur 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.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly. -
If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is muc h higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢page 184.
A WARNING "---
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly inju red and ca n be killed if
the front airbag infla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh t he Advanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward -facing
child restraint has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­ lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or i nfant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
a nd child aga inst the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rea rward-facing ch ild re­
s traints on the rear seat.
- If you must ins tall a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-facing chi ld
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
-If, in except ional circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
II--

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- 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 fo rward-facing child restraint . The
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing 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 un it mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag in dica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide inform ation to the Advanced Air ­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 19 1
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsioners shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in­
side the instrument pa nel for the front pas­
senge r.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The informat ion reg iste red is sent continu­
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu­
la te deployment of the front Adv anced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tori ng sys tem and ind ic a tor
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 195.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
q page 195, fig . 212 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 fo r 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 a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
q pag e 186, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv­
er a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•

192 Airbag system
-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- 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. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. If the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat· er time in the crash sequence.
If the electronic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity, the first stage of the air ·
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence· re·
gardless of whether the safety belt is being
used or not . In higher severity crashes as reg­
istered by the electronic control unit, both the ..,.

first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety
be lt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amo unt programmed in the electronic control
un it. The front airbag on the passenger side
w ill 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
recog nized on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off
Q page 186, 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, yo ur risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us 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
Q page 184.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 2 11 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro ­
vide supplemental protection in a fronta l col­
l ision.
A irba g sy stem 193
The 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 properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been properly
adj usted
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, t hings you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat co uld become dan­
gerous projecti les, and be p ushed in to 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 vehi cle. This dust is made up mos tly of a
powder used to lub ricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irritate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood o f serious injuries, other
injuries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can a lso happen when air ­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body. Front airbags
supplement the th ree-point safety belts only
i n some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front a irbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occurs
- in side collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollovers
- when the crash dece leration meas ured by
the air bag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic cont ro l unit
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu-
pied ..,.