page 34 AUDI Q7 2018 Owner´s Manual

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::r ' about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 291.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al ­
ways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
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 forward-facing child
safety seat . It can be a very dange rous place for
a n in fant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica ­
b le at the time your veh icle was man ufactu red.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
p loyment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u turn on the ignition, the
PAS SEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
for a few seconds and:
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF the e lectrica l capacitance measured by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equals the comb ined ca­
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward ­
facing child restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hi­
cle was certified. Fo r a listing of the child re ­
straints that were used to ce rtify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 293.
Airbag syste m
- PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
there is a small chi ld or child restraint on the
front passenger seat
- PASSENGER AIR BAG ON@ will come on if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an adu lt as
registered by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system ¢
page 281, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
The PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-old in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward­
facing child restra ints listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 with wh ich
t h e Advanced Airbag System in you r vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total electr ical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is mo re than that of a
typ ica l 1 yea r-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sm all adul t, the front airbag on the passen ­
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does
not come on, the fro nt airbag on the passenge r
side has not been t urned off by the e lectronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor ­
ed in its memory.
For example , th e ai rb ag ma y deplo y if:
- a small c hild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child sa fe ty seats listed¢
page 293), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irbag is tu rned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on in
t h e headliner a nd stays o n.
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires t he a irbag to meet the " low
r isk" deployment cr ite ria to redu ce the r isk of in­
j u ry throug h interact ion w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in t hose crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in ..,.
271

Airbag syste m
the electronic control unit c> page 281, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF-,,;, ON@ light.
Always remember, a child safety seat o r infa nt
carrier insta lled on the front seat may be st ru ck
and knocked out of position by the rapid ly inflat­
ing passenger's airbag in a fronta l co llision . The
airbag cou ld greatly reduce the effect iveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child dur ing inflation.
F or this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and si ze -we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
c> page 291, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag infla tes -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
will smash the chi ld 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 fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler .
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and ca use serio us pe rsonal injury to the child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumst ances, you must in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld res train t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-f acing se at
h as been designed and ce rt ified by its man-
272 ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before ins tall ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF -,,;,
light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ign it ion is swi tched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk o f serious injury, ma ke sure
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF-,,;; light
will be disp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF-,,;, light
does not stay on, perform the checks descri­
bed
c> page 281, Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF,;;
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
I f, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re-
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat:
Ill>

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::r ' The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe ­
ty belt and wear ing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uir es yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rt ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire­
ments fo r 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the d rive r
side . The low r is k dep loymen t cr iteria are intend ­
ed to he lp reduce t he ris k of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to t urn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
<=:>
page 293, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned
off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the c hild
r estra in ts tha t were used to certify your ve hi­
cl e's comp lian ce wi th t he US S afety St andard
<=:>
page 293,
- When a person is de te cte d on the fron t passen ­
ger sea t th at has an electr ica l capaci tance t hat
is mo re t han t he tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-facing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your ve hicle was certified), the front
Airbag syste m
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ligh t comes on
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detec ts a t otal
electrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires 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 contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses a n impact
t h at meets the cond it ions stored in its memory .
If the total electr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is more t han that of a
typ ical 1 year-old , but less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if :
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of t he
child safety seats listed<=:>
page 293),
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r ai rbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light in the head ­
liner w ill come on and stay on.
If the front passenge r airbag deploys, the Feder ­
al Standard requi res t he airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp reduce the r is k
of i njury through interaction with the a irbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic co ntro l unit .
<=:>page 281
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined o n the back
seat . Please be s ure to read the impo rtant in for­
mation in the sect ions that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WAR NIN GS.
_&. WARNING
To redu ce th e r is k of injury when an air bag in -
fl ates, always wea r sa fe ty be lts properly . ...,
275

Airbag syste m
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag¢
page 269.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door,
o r roof .
- Always install rearward -facing ch ild re ­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be ­
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on and s tay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety sea t in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and cert ified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag.
276
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fo re and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-f acing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenger seat tha t will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat. The presence of addi­
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is differen t from the w ay it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat .
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
"I,;; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r 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 pa rts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more . T he control unit monitors the system
o n the front passenger seat when the ignit ion is
switched on and turns the airbag indicato r light
o n when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected ¢
page 281. Because
t h e fron t passenger sea t contains impo rtant
parts of the Advanced Ai rbag System , you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced .,.

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::r ' Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Ad vanced Airbag System con sists
o f the follo wing :
-Cras h sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System a bout the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de ­
c ides" whether the safety belt pretens ione rs
shou ld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the d river ins ide the steer ing
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the fron t passenger.
- A capac itive passenger detect ion system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the elect ric al capac ita nce of the
person in the seat. The informat ion registe red
is sent contin uous ly to the e lectron ic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad ­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
m in the instrument cluster.
- A sensor in eac h front seat registers the dis ­
tance between the respective seat and the
stee ring wheel or instrument pane l. The infor ­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need A irbags .
- The
PA SSENG ER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
comes on in the headliner
c:> page 281,
fig . 236 and tells you the status of the Ad ­
vanced Airbag o n the passenge r side .
- A sensor i n the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whethe r that safety belt is latched or not and
t ransm its this info rmat io n to the elect ronic
c ontro l unit.
Airbag syste m
A WARNING ~ -
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced A irbag System from f unct ion ing
p roperly .
- Repa irs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified a nd p roperly tra ined
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger sea t.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat o r disconnect w ires from it .
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat . The capacit ive pas­
senger de tec tion mat in the front passenger
seat will not funct ion p roperly if i t is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenge r seat. S uch ob­
jects ca n infl uence the capaci tance reg is­
t ered by the cap aci tive passenge r detection
sys tem, so that incorrect in forma tion is pro ­
vided to the ai rbag control unit.
- Neve r store i tems unde r the front p assenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat cou ld be dam ­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys ­
tem from wor king p roper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up ­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air ­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and preven t the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploy ing properly .
- If a seat heater has bee n retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passe nger seat,
neve r ins tall any child restra int system on
t his seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows , blankets, or
sim ila r it ems o n the front passenge r seat .
277

Airbag syste m
The additiona l layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working p roperly .
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-vol t
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . S u ch
devices can infl uence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and s tay on, immedi ate ly
install child restra int in a rear seating posi ­
tion and have the airbag system inspected by your A udi dealer .
,&_ WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work­
ing prope rly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light will come on and stay on togethe r wi th
the a irbag ind icator light
m in the inst ru­
ment cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irb ag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
278
installed child restraint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light will
turn off.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front t hree-point safety belts and the adjustable
head restraints to he lp reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
sure to read the important i nformat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic contro l
u nit . Crash seve rity depe nds on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
use, the front passenge r frontal a irbag will be
turned off if t he e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenge r detection system o n
t h e fron t pa ssenger sea t is less th an the amou nt
prog rammed in t he e lec tronic contro l unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
comes on a nd stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenge r side
has been tu rned off<=?
page 281.
,&_ WARNING
T o reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in ­
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unres trained, leaning forward, si t­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much highe r.
~

a co ...... N r--. N ...... 0
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:E - -Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
9 page 269 .
More important things to know about front
airbags
F ig. 235 Inf lated fro nt a irbags
0 0 M
-.:,
~
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold prope rly and provide sup·
p lemental pro tection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide add i­
tional protect ion for the chest and face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag
- and the head restraints have been proper ly ad-
justed
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
g reat fo rce, things you have on your lap or have
p laced on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in·
flates .
W hen an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irr itate skin .
It is important to remember that while the sup ­
p lemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra-
Airbag system
s ions, can also happen when airbags inflate . Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supp lement the three ­
po int safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle dece leration is high enough
to dep loy the airbags .
Front airbags will not depl oy :
- if the ignition is switche d off when a crash oc-
curs
- in side co llisions
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollovers
- when the crash decele ration measured by the
airbag system is less than the m inimum thresh­
old needed for airbag dep loyment as registe red
by the electronic con trol un it
The front passenger airbag also w ill not
deploy:
- when the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
t he front passenge r seat ind icates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the e lectronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light 9 page 281 comes on
and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the a irbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al·
ways sit in an upright posit ion, must not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
inj ured by an airbag as it unfolds with g reat
for ce in the blink of an eye
r=> page 2 70.
A WARNING
A child in a re arward-fa cing child safety seat
i nsta lled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously in jured and can be ki lled if the front .,,.
279

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:E ' Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the
El light and
the
PAS SENGE R AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side curtain airbags with eject ion
m it igation feat ures ( including the e lectron ic con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are a ll
monitored continuously to make sure that they
a re funct ioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
Th e sys tem mu st be in spect ed wh en the
indicato r light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on while driving
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
indicator light wi ll come on to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front air ­
bag on the passenger side
off, the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~.
light wi ll come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 25
comes when the vehicle is be ing used, have
the system inspected immed iate ly by your
au thorized Aud i dealer.
It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not s up­
posed to, or will not inflate when it shou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; ON @ light
"' -N
i
F ig. 236 Sectio n from t he headliner: PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF~ ; ON
@ light
T he PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ light is
located in the headliner¢
fig. 236.
T he PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF~; light will come
o n and stay on to tell you when the fron t Ad­
vanced Airbag o n the passenger s ide has been
turned
off by the e lectronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @
light burns out, the airbag ind icator light El will
come on to signal a malfunction in the Advanced
Airbag System. Although the burned-out bu lb
will not change the way the front passenger's
frontal a irbag works, it will no longer be possible
to use the
PAS SENGER A IR BAG OFF~; ON @
light to make sure that the airbag on/off status is
correct fo r the occ upan t on the front passenge r
seat. Have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer.
Th e PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ light
will blink for about 5 second s wh en :
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger's fron­ tal Advanced Airbag o n and off, detects a
change in the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; ON
@ light stops blinking, a lways make sure that the
airbag status (on or off) as shown by the ligh t is
proper fo r the age, size and e lectrical capacitance
of the person occ upying the front passenger
seat . Always make sure that the safety belt for
the front passenger seat is properly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~/ PASSEN GER
AIR BAG ON @ ligh t will show th e sta tu s o f the .,..
28 1

Airbag syste m
front seat p assenge r's frontal Ad vanced Airbag.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light:
-will come on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will come on if t he e lectr ica l capacitance meas ­
u red by the c apac it ive passenger detect ion sys ­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward -facing
or forward-facing chi ld rest raints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was certif ied; For a list ing of the child re­
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle 's
compliance with t he U .S. Safety Standard
¢ page 293.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the capacitive
passenger detection system .
- T he
PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF~; light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, o r
-a rearward-fac ing ch ild restrai nt has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restra int has been instal­
l ed on the front passenger seat,
- and if the electrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equal to or less than
the comb ined capac itance of a typical 1 year­
o ld infant a nd one of t he rearward-fac ing o r
fo rwa rd -fa cing ch ild restrain ts lis ted in Federal
Motor Ve hicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
I f t he fron t passenger sea t is no t occ upied, the
fron t ai rbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
"1 ; lig ht wi ll stay on.
Neve r install a rearward-fac ing ch ild rest rai nt on
t he fro nt passenge r sea t, the safest p lace for a
chi ld in any k ind of chi ld restraint is at one of t he
seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 2 70,
Child restraints on the front seat -some impor­
tant things to know
and ¢ page 291, Child safe ­
ty .
282
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
comes on . ..
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on when one of the condit ions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition
i s on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
t ime, stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turn ing the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds and then tur ning it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint . Make
sure that the child restra int is prope rly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r sea t has bee n correct ly rou ted th rough
t he ch ild restraint as desc ribed in the c hild r e­
straint man ufacturer's instructions;
- ma ke sure that t he convert ible loc king re tra c­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt has been pu lled tight .
- make sure that no e lectrica l device (s uch as a
laptop , CD p layer , e lectronic games d evice,
power inverte r or seat heater for chi ld seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on and does not stay on cont in u­
ous ly (when the ign ition is switched on),
- take the child restra in t off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear ..,.

Cl a:, ...... N
" N ...... 0
0
::r ' seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
should NOT come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adu lt is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat. If the
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light comes on and stays on while
driving, under these circumstances, make sure
that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up aga inst the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
ho ld ing on to the passenger assist handle
above t he front passenger door o r supporting
the ir we ight on the arm rest,
- the safety be lt is be ing properly wo rn and that
the re is not a lot of slack i n the safe ty belt web­
bing,
- the re are no aftermar ket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (s uch as blankets) on the
front passenge r seat tha t migh t cau se the ca ­
pacit ive passenger detection system to miscal ­
cu late electrical capacitance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv­
er's attention. If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not go
off when an adult who is not
very sma ll is sitting on the front passenger
Airbag syste m
seat a fter tak ing the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer before trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenge r seat.
A WARNING
-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop­
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental prote ct ion
i n a front al cra sh.
- I f the ai rbag ind icator light
~page 25
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspe cted immedia tely by your
author ized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
,= -
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
chi ld restraint, or in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re­
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younge r, always ride on the back sea t prop­
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize.
- Always install fo rwa rd or rea r-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advan ced Airb ag Sys tem.
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
c a use of ex cep tional cir cums tan ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in­
spected by your authorized Aud i dea ler.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward- facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat 's
fore and aft ad justmen t range, as far away
from the a irbag as poss ible. The back res t
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
283