page 27 AUDI Q7 2014 Owner´s Manual

186 Airbag sys tem
as def ined in the electronic control unit
Q page 194, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
A lways remember, a ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier insta lled on the front sea t may be
struck and knocked o ut o f position by the rap ­
id ly inflating passeng er's airbag in a frontal
coll is ion . T he airbag cou ld greatly reduce the
effec tiveness of the child restraint and even
serious ly 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 acco rd ing to their age and si ze - we
s trongly recommend that children always sit
in the back seat
Q page 204, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
s e at insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he fr ont a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he i nflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest , center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always insta ll 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
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
hav e 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 i n­
terfere wi th the deployment of the air­
b ag and cau se serious person al injury to
the ch ild .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int 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 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 pos ition in the seat's fore a nd
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible b efore installing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be a djusted to a n up right
position.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n all the
t ime wheneve r the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING -ra----
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will 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
Q page 194, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
-Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions if t he
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi deal er immed iate­
ly .
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
chi ld restraint manufacture rs when in­
st all ing c hild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in exce ptiona l circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward or rearw ard-fa cing child
r estra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Imp roper ins tallation o f child restra ints
can reduce their effec tiveness or even

188 Airbag system
conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng­
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes .
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over­
all occupant restraint system in your vehicle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are sitting up­
right , wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
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 very small adults on
the driver side. The low risk deployment crite­
ria are intended to help reduce the risk of in- jury through interaction with the front 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 "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 206, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified. For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­
pliance with the US Safety Standard
~page 206,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas­
senger seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­ senger seat, weighing more than the total
weight of a child that is about 1 year old re­
strained in one of the rear-facing or forward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen­ ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a to­
tal weight on the front passenger seat that re­ quires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control
unit and can deploy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
ll-

If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year -old,
but less than the weight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light does not
come on).
For example, th e airbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
<=) page 206),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned
off, the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PA SSENG ER AIR BAG O FF
light does not ill uminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt or teenager is on 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 vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenge r seat .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment cr iteria to help re ­
duce the risk of inju ry 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 194
Al ways rememb er: Even tho ugh your 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 inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
A irbag system 189
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is much 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
flates -even w ith an Advanced A irbag
<=)page 183 .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- Al tho ugh the Advanced Airbag System 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 guarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable s ituations 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 infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the bac krest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install 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 s tay on, im ­
mediately insta ll the rear-facing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
~
•
•

190 Airbag sys tem
-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 lli ng
the fo rward-facing chi ld restraint. The
b ackres t must be adjus ted to an upr igh t
posit io n.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light co m es 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 lot 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 fu nction of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on.
The control unit mo nitors the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a ma lfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
ai rbag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a cra sh .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash senso rs in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle ac celera tion/de ce le ra ti on
to provide info rm ation to the Advanced Air­
bag System abo ut the severity of the crash . -
An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to fi re
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The contro l
un it also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsioners shou ld be act ivated .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator for
the dr iver inside the stee ring wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in­
side the instrument panel for the front pas­
senge r.
- A we ight-sensing mat under the up ho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat .
The informat io n registe red is sent continu­
ou sly to the elec troni c con tro l unit to regu ­
la te deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring sys tem and in dicator
light in t he instr ument cluster
~ page 194.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and sta ys on in the cen ter o f th e instr u­
ment panel
~ page 194, fig . 210 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure the tension
on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
~ pag e 185, Child restraints on th e
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er a nd fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w het he r th at safety bel t is latched or
no t and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the fr ont passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-

192 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 programmed 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 185, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
~ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always 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 serious inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
o page 183.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fig. 2 09 Inflated front a irbags
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 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 placed 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 airbags 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 serious 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 185.
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 193
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 ~
•
•

194 Airbag sys te m
aw ay by ge tting out of the vehicle or
o pening windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and face with
mild soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your
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 (including the
e lectronic control un it, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored cont inuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on . Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the airbag monitoring in­
d icator light
I will come on fo r a few seconds
(self diagno stics) .
The system mu st be inspected when the
indicator light
I :
- does not come on when the ignit io n is
switched on
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have swi tched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on while driving
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 serve 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
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght w ill come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light¢
page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer. It is pos­
sib le that the airbag will infla te when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
-
.r--------------,
------------------
Fig. 210 Sect io n from the instru men t pa nel: PASS EN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
¢fig . 210.
T he PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
t ime you turn on t he ignition, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flas h for a few
seconds and:
- w ill stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied
- will stay on i f the re is a small chi ld or child
restraint on the front passenger seat
- will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and sta y on
if the ignition is on and
- a car bed has been ins talled on the fron t
seat, or

-a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -facing child restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger 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-facing or forward-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith 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
PAS ·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restra int 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 185, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 204, 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
li ght stays on continuous ly 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 chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed through the child restraint as descri­
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer's in­
st ructio ns;
- make sure that the convert ible locking fea­
ture on the safety belt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
sa fety 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 214.
Airbag system 195
-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 s ure that 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-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
t inu ously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it proper ly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by you r authorized Aud i dealer
immed iate ly.
- move the ch ild to a rear seat position and
make sure that the child is properly restra in­
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un ­
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the cente r of the seat
cushion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
¢ page 165, 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,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
be lt webb ing, .,..
•
•

196 Airbag sys te m
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impress ion on the weight-sens ing 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
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGER AIR B AG O FF or
PASS ENGER AIR B AG O N will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster display . T his is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
a irbag status .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
_&. WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c::> page 16
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediately
by you r authorized Aud i dea ler.
It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should .
_&. WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child witho ut
a child restraint, 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 all children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forwa rd 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 c ircumstan­
ces and the
PA SS ENGER AIR BA G OFF
light does not appear 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 inspected by your au­
thorized A udi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­ ward-facing child restraint attached to the front passenger seat can p ut too
m uch 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 Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fata l injury to the ch ild.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al ­
ways move the seat into its rearmos t po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on .
_&. WARNING
r-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make sure the
adu lt is properly seated and restra ined at
one of the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger
seat.
('D Tips
If t he weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat de tects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side wi ll be
jll,,

The side a irbag syste m basicall y consists o f:
-the e lectronic control module and external
s ide impact senso rs
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- two rear side airbags (as an ordered
option)
-the a irbag warning light in the in strument
cluster .
The airbag system is monitored electron ically
t o make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times . Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator l ight will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide a irbag system supplements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in­
jury to the driver's, front and rear* passeng­ er's upper torso on the side of the veh icle that
i s struck in a side collision. The a irbag dep loys
only in s ide impacts and on ly when the veh icle
acceleration registered by the control unit is
high enough. If this rate is below the refer ­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision. It is not possible to de­
fine an airbag trigger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact, since the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors
include, for examp le, the natu re (hard o r soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le o f impact ,
vehicle speed, etc.
¢ page 200, Important
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function , safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a side
coll ision so that the side airbags can provide
protection.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle . Al­
ways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wear ing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly . Th is
i s another reason why you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re-
A irbag system 199
quires you to do so c;> page 174, General
notes .
It is important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplementa l side airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
and minor abrasions can also be associated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too,
s ide airbags will deploy only once and only in
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are always there to offer protection .
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack
of veh icle damage are not necessarily an indi­
cation of over -sensitive or failed airbag activa ­
t ion. In some collis ions, both front and side
airbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­ bags will deploy only once and only in ce rtain
ki nds of col lis ions -yo ur safe ty belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acc i­
dents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have a lready deployed.
The side airbag system will n ot deploy:
- when t he ignit io n is tu rned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents the front airbags,
side curtain airbags and side ai rbags may be
triggered together.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
¢page 200.
-If the airbag ind icator light ¢ page 16
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer.
It is pos­
sible tha t the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not infla te
when it should. •
•