airbag AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET 2013 User Guide

120 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢page 62.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast­
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per­
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold­
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag de­
ploys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple­
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev­
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air­
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop­
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving . Your seat may move unexpect­
edly and you could lose control of the ve­
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in- jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
tion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 158. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat¢
page 13 7.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom ­
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Move the front passenger seat back as far as
possible . There must be a minimum of
10 inches (25 cm) between the breastbone
and the instrument panel¢,&. .
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Applies to vehicles with adjustable head re­
straints: Adjust the head restraint so the up­
per edge is as even as possible with the top
of your head. If that is not possible, try to
adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to this position as possible.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢page 132.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 61.
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air­ bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:

-Passengers must always sit in an upright
posit ion and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located .
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenge r's breastbone and the instru­
ment pane l.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of the ir own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat .
- Before driv ing, a lways adjust the front
passenger seat and head restra int prop­
er ly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win ­
dow, etc . The airbag system and safety
belt will not be ab le to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
t ion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c::> page 158 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenge r seat
c::> page 13 7.
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seat ing position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas-
Dr ivin g Sa fely 121
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
'" Make su re that the seatba ck is secure ly
latched in the upright position
c::> page 67 .
'" Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
'" Fasten and wear safety belts proper ly
c::>page 132.
'"Make sure that children are always properly
restrai ned in a child restraint that is appro ­
pr iate for the ir s ize and age
c::> page 158 .
.&, WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rea r seat can be seriously inj ured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the seatback is sec urely latch ­
ed in the upright position and the safety
be lts are properly positioned on the
body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
injury from improperly positioned safety
belts!
Proper adjustment of head restraints
App lies to vehicles: with adjustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations .
Fig . 1 35 Head restra int: vi ewed fro m the front

Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee a irbag can
inflate without interference . Objects be ­
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of inju ry in an acc ident by interfer­
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
be ing p ush ed into you as the airbag de­
ploys .
- No persons (ch ild ren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas­
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fata l injuries .
- No objec ts of any k ind sho uld be car ried
in t he footwell area in front of the driv­
er's or passenger's seat . B ulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham­
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag . Small objects can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you o r your passengers .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
M ake sure t hat all pedals move freely witho ut
in te rference and th at nothing prevents them
from returning to the ir origina l positions.
Only use floo r mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured w it h floor mat fas ten ­
e rs.
If a b rake circuit fails, increased b rake pedal
travel is req uired to br ing the vehi cle to a full
stop.
Dr iving S afel y 123
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk
of ser ious inju ry .
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's
footwell . An ob ject cou ld get into the
pedal area and inte rfe re with pedal func­
tion . In case of sudde n bra ki ng o r an ac­
cident, yo u wo uld not be a ble to brake or
ac celer ate!
- Always ma ke su re tha t no thing can fall
or m ove into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals .
" Make s ure that the floor mats are prope rly
secured and cannot move and inte rfe re with
t he ped als~ ,&. .
U se on ly floor mats that leave the pedal area
unobst ructed and that are firmly secu red so
that they cannot slip o ut of posi tion . You ca n
obt ain suitab le floo r mats from yo ur aut ho r­
ized Audi dea ler .
Floor mat fastene rs a re insta lled in your Aud i.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at­
tac hed to these fastene rs . Prope rly secur ing
the floor mats will prevent them from sliding
i nto positions that could interfere with the
peda ls o r impa ir safe ope rat io n of yo ur vehicle
i n othe r ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can result
in a loss of vehicle control and inc rease the
risk of serious persona l injury.
- Always ma ke s ure that floo r mats a re
properly secu red.
- Never p lace or ins tall floor mats o r other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in p lace to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing with
~
•
•

with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on air bags a lone for protec tion.
E ven when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection . Ai rbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
veh icle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i­
mize t he risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have a lready deployed . U nbelted
occupants ca n also be thrown out of the vehi ­
cle whe re even mo re severe o r fa tal in ju ries
can occur .
It is also impo rtant fo r the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrec tly. Unbe lted passen­
ge rs i n the rea r seats endanger no t on ly them­
se lves bu t also the driver a nd o ther passen­
gers
¢ fig. 145 . In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward vio lent ly, where they can
h it and injure the dr iver and/or front seat pas­
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it 's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
F ig . 1 46 D river is correctly restra ined in a sud den bral<·
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif­
ference . Safety be lts he lp to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
Safety belts 131
applied to the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
ca use serio us injuries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and
give t hem the benefit of being s lowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features enginee red into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" t he kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t ime, the safety be lts make the
fo rces on the body more "tolerable" and less
li kely to ca use inju ry.
Althoug h these examples a re based o n a fron­
ta l co llision, safety belts can a lso substantia l­
l y red uce the risk of in jur y in other kinds of
cr ashes. So, whethe r you're on a long trip o r
just going to the co rner store, a lways buckle
u p and make sure others do, too . Accident sta ­
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
i njured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen ­
ta l airbags to do the ir job in a collision . Fo r
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re­
quired in mos t coun tries including much of
t he United States and Canada.
Althoug h your Aud i is equipped wi th a irbags,
you st ill have to wear the safety be lts p rov id­
ed . Front airbags, fo r example, a re activa ted
o nly in some frontal collisions. The fron t air­
bags are not act ivated in a ll fron tal coll isions,
in s ide and rear co llisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where t here is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for the other a irbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrai ned!

_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible across the pelv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ &. in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 133.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 151 Relea sing the to ngue from the buckle
... Push the red re lease but ton on the buc kle
¢
fig. 151 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out
of the buckle
¢ ,&. .
0 .... N 9 :r
~
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
gu ide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety bel ts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety be lts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or death. S afety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and w ill even
Safety belts 135
increase the risk of injury and death by mov­
ing the safety be lt to critica l areas of the
body. Improper seating positions a lso in ­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi ­
t ion. A driver is respo ns ible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil­
dren. Therefore:
... Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing pos ition in the vehicle while traveli ng
¢ ,&. .
_& WARNING
Improperly worn safety bel ts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used .
- Always ma ke s ure that all vehi cle occu­
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a co rrect seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNI NGS and
other important information
¢ page 132.
Safety belt preten-
• s1oners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
T he safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by se n­
sors i n fro nt, side and rear -end co llisions of
great seve rity . This tightens the belt and takes
up belt slack¢
& in Service and disposal of
safety b elt pretension er on page 136.
Taking
up the slack he lps to reduce fo rward occupant
movement during a collision .
(D Note
Never let the belt remain ove r a rear seat­
back that has been fo lded forward .

136 Safety belts
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions in
'
rear-end collisions and in accidents in-
volving very little impact force, the safe­
ty belt pretensioner are not activated .
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo­
nents of the system are scrapped . An au ­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop is familiar with these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the infor­
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
mental and other regulations if the vehi­
cle or individual parts of the system , par­
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov­
ing , servicing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a colli­
sion.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretension er from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly: -
The belt pretensioner system can be acti­
vated only once. If belt pretensioners have been activated, the system must be
replaced .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe­
cial procedures are required for removal, installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified technician who has an Audi approved re­pair manual, training and special equip­
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.

Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 119,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 62 ,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 132,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren
r::::> page 158.
In a collision airbags must inflate within th e
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Th erefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supplemental protec­
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 119,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
¢ page 62.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
r::::> page 158.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen­
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your Aud i work to­
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 137
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals, spec ial
modifications to yo ur vehicle may be necessa­
ry.
Contact your authorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi Customer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener­
ator will fi ll the airbags, break open the pad ­
ded covers, and inf late between the steering
whee l and the driver and between the instru­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield aga in without inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the air bags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and noth ing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc ­
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senge r from hitting parts of the inside the ve­
hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce t he risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash . A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body .
Both front air bags w ill not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con­
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
ev en though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a resu lt of the co llision . Vehicle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate o r not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and ..,.
•
•

138 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or s oft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or re ar collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed; for example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts ¢
page 129 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from t he steer ing wheel, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestr ained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air ­
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 132, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let c hildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad­
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 119.
-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
he lp prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move i nto the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag d uring br akin g or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air ­
bags can become projec tiles and cause
inj ury when an airbag inflates.
.&, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap ­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re­
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as­
sure system effectiveness i n a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air­
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information
and head the WAR NINGS for important de­
t ails about children and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 158 . ..,.

Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all ch ildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
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 dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply w ith the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front ai rbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 160.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
Q page 148, Monitor­
ing the Advanced 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 airbag to be turned off.
Airbag system 139
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
c hild but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag 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 a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the contr ol unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
Q page 160), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non-reclined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
~ page 119, 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 injury thro ugh interaction with the
airbag . "Low risk" deployment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
Q page 148, PASSENGER 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 posit ion by the rap­
idly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The airbag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation. •
•

140 Airbag sys tem
For this reason, and because t he bac k seat is
the safest place for children - when prop erly
restra ined according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 158, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he front a irbag inflates - even wit h an Ad­
v a nced Airb ag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you mus t inst all a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
au thorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal ­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfer e wi th the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always m ake su re the forw ard-fa cing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufact urer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re ­
st raint up aga inst or very near the inst ru­
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft ad
justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed
Q page 148, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on.
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward or rearwa rd -facing child
r estra int on t he front passenger's seat :
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
p revent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch il d restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as it de­
p loys and seriously injure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advance d Airbag
System.
- Always caref ully follow the m anu factur ­
er 's ins truc tio ns p rov ided with the ch ild
safety sea t or carrier .