child seat AUDI R8 SPYDER 2015 User Guide

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also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll­
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 95.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will in cr ease the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches ( 25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 in ches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much higher.
- Yo u will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
i=> page 98, Safety belts.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly. If ch ildren are not
properly restrained, they may be severely in­
jured or killed when an airbag inflates .
- Never r ide with the backrest recl ined .
- Always s it as far as possib le from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
-
Airbag syste m
c::> page 87, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag du ring bra king or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become p rojectiles and cause in ju ry when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irb ags th at have deployed i n a crash mus t be
r eplaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap­
p roved by Aud i and installed by a tr ained
technician who has the necessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know
"' Be sure to read the important information and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about c hildren and Advanced Airbags
c::>page 122.
The airbag on the passenger s ide makes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous p lace for a child to
r ide. The front seat is not the safest p lace for a
c hi ld in a forwa rd-fac ing c hild safety seat.
It can
be a ve ry dangero us p lace for an infant or a c hild
in a rearward-facing seat.
T he Adva nced A irbag Sys tem in you r vehicle has
been certified to comply wi th the Requiremen ts
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your ve hi-
cle was manufactured. ..,.
103

Airbag system
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat. For a listing
of the child restraints that were used to certify
comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 124.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru­
men t panel tells you when the front Advanced
A irbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on for a few
seconds and:
- will stay o n if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild re­
stra int on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight­
sensing mat¢
page 112, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight on
the front passenger seat that requires the front
a ir bag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year-old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
a ir bag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come
on) . 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 e lectronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (re-
104
gardless of whether the child is in one o f the
child safety seats listed¢
page 124), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger ai rbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
instrument panel and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a smal l adult
o r teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting up­
right with their back against a non-reclined back­
rest with their feet on the vehicle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
¢ page 87, Proper seating position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in­
ju ry through interaction with the a irbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control un it
¢page 112, PASSEN­
G£R AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly inflat­
in g passenge r's airbag in a frontal collision . The
a irbag could greatly reduce the effec tiveness of
the child res traint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
_&. WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
a ir bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG

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OFF light does not come on and stay on the
inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild safety seat and ch ild
against the backrest, door or roof . Have the
airbag system inspected immed iately by
your authorized Aud i dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenge r's seat may inte rfe re
with the deployment of the airbag and cause se rious personal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t in­
stall a forward -facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas ­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or ve ry near the instr ument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possib le before installing the for­
ward -fac ing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right posit io n.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes o n and stays on all the t ime
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll
be di splayed w henever a child res traint is in ­
stalled on the front passenger sea t and the
ign ition is swi tched on .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, per form the checks described
<:? page 112, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System .
-Have the airbag system inspecte d by your
Audi dealer immed iately .
Airbag syste m
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restrain ts.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you m ust in­
stall a forwa rd or rearward -fac ing ch ild re ­
strai nt on the front passenger's sea t:
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints can
red uce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill the child -even
wit h an Adva nced A irbag System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact urer's
instr uctions provided w ith th e child safety
seat o r carr ie r.
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg iste red
by the we ight-sensing mat and can c ause in­
jury in a cr ash.
105

Airb ag syst em
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants .
Fig. 115 Location of driver airbag : in steering whee l
Fig. 116 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru­
ment panel
Your vehicle is equ ipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in comp liance with Un ited States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicab le at the time your veh i­
cle was manufactured. The safety belts for the
front seats have "pretensioners" that he lp to take
slack out of the belt system. The pretensioners
are also activated by the electronic control unit
for the airbag system.
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters to
help reduce the forces applied to the body in a
crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing wheel
hub
¢ fig . 115 and the airbag for the front pas ­
senger is in the instrument panel¢
fig. 116. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG".
106
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
i nformation about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small children .
,&_ WARNING -
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supp lemental p rotection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety be lts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
prope rly restrained.
,&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small ch ild ren, will rece ive
serious i njur ies and can even be killed by be­
ing too close to the airbag when it inf lates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a sma ll child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that dep loyment un­
der these special condit ions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy in
accordance with the "low risk" option under
the U .S. Federal Standard if a chi ld that is
heav ier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
- For its own safety, a child shou ld always r ide
prope rly rest rained for i ts age a nd si ze.
Advanced front airbag system -
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System
in compliance with United States
Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 asap­
plicable at the time your vehicle was manufac­
tured.

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The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additiona l protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The a irbags in­
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de­
celeration is h igh enough .
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety be lts. Rather, it is pa rt of the overall occupant re­
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitt ing upright, wearing your safe­
ty belt and weari ng it properly. This is why you
and your passengers m ust always be properly re­
strained, no t just because the law req uires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low risk " requi re­
men ts fo r 3 and 6 yea r-old ch ildren on the pas­
senger side and very small ad ults on the driver
side . The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the r isk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inf lates.
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requ irements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are restra ined o n the front passenger seat in c hild re­
straints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 124, Child restraints and Advan ced Air­
bags.
"S uppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing o r forward-fac ing in fant rest raints listed
in Federa l Moto r Ve hicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ic h t he Advanced Ai rbag System in your
vehicle was cer tified. For a list ing of the ch ild
r es traints that were used to cert ify you r vehi­
cle's compliance with t he US Safety Standard
~ page 124, Airbag
syste m
- weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the
cont ro l unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detecte d on the front passen­
ger seat, weigh ing more than the tota l we ight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac ing infant re ­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard
208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not de­
ploy .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the elect ro nic cont ro l unit detects a total
we ight on the fro nt passenger sea t that requires
the front airbag to be tu rned off . If the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
fron t airbag on t he passenger side h as not bee n
tu rned off by the control unit and can dep loy if
t h e con trol unit senses an impact that meets t he
conditions stored in its memo ry .
If the tot al weight on the fr ont p assenge r seat is
more than that o f a typical 1 year-o ld, b ut less
t h an the weight of a small adult, the front airbag
o n the passenge r side may deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For example , the airbag ma y deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
yea r-old ch ild is on the front passenge r seat ( re­
ga rdless o f whether the chi ld is in one of the
child sa fe ty seats listed~
page 124),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild res traint s is on
t he fron t passenger seat.
If th e front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e instr ume nt pane l w ill come on and s tay on.
The front airbag o n the passenge r side may
not
deploy ( the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill umi nate and s tay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting upright with
their back aga inst a non-reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of th e
seat is on t he front passenger sea t.
IJl,
107

Airbag syste m
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined in the electron ic control unit
<:;> page 112.
Always remember: Please be sure to read the im­
portant information in the sections that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
t ing s ideways o r out of position in any way,
you r risk of inju ry is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
<:;>page 102.
A WARNING
A child i n a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody ca n absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life of you r 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 chi ld
against the bac krest, doo r, or roof.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
sa fety seat on the front passenge r seat be­
ca use of exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
108
A WARNING , ~
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restra int on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the inst rument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rea rmost position in t he seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, be fore insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restrain t. T he backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Ma ke s ure that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght 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 parts include the weight­
sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brackets, and more.
The function of the system in the front passenger
seat is checked by the e lectronic control unit
whe n the ignition is on. The control unit mo nitors
the Advanced Airbag System and t urns the a irbag
i ndicator light on when a malf unct ion in the sys­
tem components is detected. The function o f the
airbag indicator light is described in greater de­
tai l below . Because the front passenger seat con­
ta ins important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, you must take care to prevent it from be­
i ng damaged . Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced A irbag for the front passenger seat
from doing its job in a cras h.
The f ront Ad van ced Airbag S ystem consi sts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide i nfo rmation to the Advanced Airbag
System about the sever ity of the crash.

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- An electronic control uni t, with integrated
crash sensors for front an d side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based o n the information received from
the cras h sensors . The control un it also "de­
c ides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger .
- A weight-sens ing mat under the upholstery
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush ion
that measures the total we ight on the seat . The
information registered is se nt cont inuously to
the e lectronic control unit to regulate dep loy­
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas­
se nger side.
- An a irbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the inst rumen t cluster
¢page 112.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the cen ter of t he instrument
pane l
¢page 112, fig . 118 and te lls you when
the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor be low the safety belt la tch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on
the safety be lt . The tension on the safety belt
and the weight registered by the weight-sens­
ing mat help the control unit "dec ide" whether
the front airbag for the front passenger seat
shou ld be turned
off or not ¢ page 103, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
t ransmits th is info rmation to the electronic
control unit.
~ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre ­
vent the front airbag from work ing proper ly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
Airbag syste m
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified and properly t rained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble o r remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur pockets or
place them on the seat. If the weight-sens­
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctured
it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the we ight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat and send the w rong in­
formation to the a irbag con trol unit .
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up­
hols tery that have not been specifically ap­
p rove d by Aud i on t he front se ats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag Sys tem from recogni zing child re­
s traints or oc cupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent t he side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, b lan kets or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The additional padding will prevent the
weight-sens ing mat in the seat from accu­
rately register ing the child restraint or per­
son on the seat and prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from functioning properly.
- 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 o r some thing else to
p roperly pos ition the c hild restra int , ma ke
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on an d stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas ­
senger seat .
109

Airbag system
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags supplement the protection offered by the
front three-point safety be lts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide
range of accident and crash situations. Be sure to
read the important information about safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety be lt pr etensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash sever ity depends on speed and decel­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
veh icle 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
be ing used , the first stage deploys, followed by
the second stage after a much later time in the
crash sequence.
If the electronic control un it reg isters a crash of
medium severity, the first stage of the airbag de­
p lo ys followed by the second stage at a much lat­
er time in the crash sequence -regardless of
whether the safety belt is being used or not. In
h ig her severity crashes as registered by the elec­
tronic control unit, both the first and second
stages deploy almost at the same time .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety belt
use, the airbag will be turned off if the weight on
the passenger seat is less than the amount pro­
grammed in the electronic contro l unit. The front
airbag on the passenger side w ill also be turned
off if one of the child safety seats that has been
cert ified under Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 has been recogn ized 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 turned off
110
q page 103, Child restraints on the front seat -
some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher .
- 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
q page 102.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 117 Infla ted fro nt airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated pos ition so that
airbags can unfold properly and prov ide supple­
mental protection in a fronta l collision .
The front airbags are des igned to provide addi­
tional protect ion for the chest and face of the
dr ive r 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 properly ad-
justed .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in-
flates.
~

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When 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 serious injuries, other injur ies,
for example swel ling, bruising and minor abra­
sions , can also happen when a irbags inflate . Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body . Front airbags only supp lement the
three point safety belts in some frontal col lisions
in which the ve hicle deceleration is high eno ugh
to deploy the airbags .
Front airbags will not d eploy:
- i f the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
o ld needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control un it.
The front pa ssenger airbag will a lso not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the we ight on the front passenger seat as
sensed by the Advanced Airbag System indi­
cates that the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has to be turned
off by the electronic con­
trol unit (the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
r is k of se rious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the d river and passengers must al­
ways s it in an upr ight position, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located .
Airbag syste m
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye
c'.> page 103.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety seat
i nstalled on the front passenge r seat w ill be
seriously inju red and can be killed if the front
a ir bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier with great force and
will sm ash the child s afety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, center arm rest, door
or roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght comes on
and stays on.
If the PASSENG ER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght does not come on and stay on, the
inflating a irbag will hit the child safety seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst th e backrest, door or roof. Have the
ai rbag system inspected immediately by
your author ized A udi dealer.
A WARNING
Obje cts between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by inte rfe r­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing p ushed into you as the airbag inflates .
- Never hold things in yo ur hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transpo rt items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front a irbags dur­
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous project iles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the a irbags
i n flate.
- Never p lace or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
b rackets, large , heavy o r bulky objects) on
the doors, over or nea r the a rea marked
-
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The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned
off
by the electron ic control unit. Each time you turn
on the ignition, the
P A SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go out if the front passenger seat is occ u­
pied by an adult as registered by the weight ­
sensing mat .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st co me
on and st a y on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been insta lled on the front seat,
o r
- a rearward-fac ing c hild restraint has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- a fo rward-facing child restraint has been insta l­
led on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight registered on the front passenger
seat is equal to o r less than the comb ined
weight of a typica l 1 yea r-old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd-facing infant re­
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified .
I f the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
fro nt airbag will not deploy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward-facing chi ld restraint on the front pas­
senger seat
c::> page 103, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to know
and
c::>page 122, Child Safety .
If the PASSENG ER AIR BAG O FF light c omes on
when one of the condit ions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer­
tain that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stays on cont inuous ly whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear and not stay on a ll the time, stop as
soon as it is safe to do so and
- r eact ivate the system by turning the ignition
off
and then tu rning it on aga in;
Airbag syste m
- remove and reinstall the child restraint . Make
sure that the child restraint is properly installed
and that the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been correct ly routed aro und the child
restraint as described in the child restra int
manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retractor
on the safety belt for the front passenger seat
has been activated and that the safety belt has
been pu lled tight . T he belt must not be loose or
have loops of s lack so that the sensor below the
safety belt latch on the seat can do its job
c::>page 130.
-make sure t hat things that may i ncrease the
weight of the ch ild and ch ild safety seat are not
be ing transpor ted on the front passenge r seat;
- ma ke s ure t hat the safety belt tension sensor is
not b locked. Shake the safety bel t latch on the
front passenger seat back and forth;
- I f a s trap o r tether is be ing used to tie the child
safety seat to the front passenger seat, ma ke
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 doe s
not come on
and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- t ake the child restraint
off the front passenge r
seat and insta ll it properly at one o f the rea r
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immed iate ly .
- move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropr iate for its size
and age.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should NO T
come on when the ignition is on and an ad ult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PA SS ENG ER A IR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while dr iv ing, under these circumstan­
ces, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper- ly seated on the center of the seat cushion w ith
his or her back up against the backrest and the .,..
113