warning AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET 2015 Owners Manual

134 Airbag sys te m
For this reason, a nd 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 152, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A c hild 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 ¢
page 141, 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 .

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-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
o ccupan ts.
F ig . 149 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 150 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The safety be lts
for the seats have "pretensione rs" that help
to take slack out of the belt system . The pre­
tensioners are a lso activated by the electronic
contro l 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 fo r the driver is in the s teer ing
wheel hub
~ fig. 149 and the airbag for the
A irba g sy stem 135
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 150 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T he re is a lot you need to know about t he a ir­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information 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 o f your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children .
.&_ WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotec tion.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only suppleme nta l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively w hen used
with p roperly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that eve rybody in your ve­
hicle is p rope rly r est rained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cially infants and sma ll children, w ill re­
ceive ser io us i njuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advan ced A irbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
fro nt passenge r airbag if a n infant or a
sma ll child is on the front passenger
seat , nobody can absolutely gua rantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible i n all conceiva­
ble sit uat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicl e.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with the "low risk" option
un der the U.S . Fede ral S tanda rd if a child
that is heavie r th an the typical one-yea r
old child is on the front passenge r seat
a nd the ot her condit ions for a irbag de ­
ployment are met .
-

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-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the c hild is in one of
t h e chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 154),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OF F light in the center
of the instrument pane l w ill come on and stay
on.
The front ai rbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small ad ult or teenager is o n the front pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non -reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re ­
d uce the risk of inj ury through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic co ntrol
u ni t.
¢ page 141
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor ­
tant information i n the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
.8, WARNING
To redu ce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
in flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes -even with an Advanced Airbag
Q page 131 .
Airbag system 137
.8, WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser iously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag System .
- Al tho ugh the A dvanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
fro nt airbag whe n a rea rward-facing
child res tra int has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The in flating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and chi ld against the backrest , center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re­
straints in the back seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
c e s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come o n and stay on, im­
media tely insta ll the rear -fa cing ch ild
safety sea t in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in e xceptiona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat:
- Always make sure the forward- facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing •
•

138 Airbag sys te m
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENG ER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat , sensors, w iring, brack­
ets, and more. The function of the sys tem in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control unit when the ignition is on .
T he control unit mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low . Because the front passenge r
seat conta ins important parts of the Ad­
v a nce d Airbag System, you m ust ta ke care to
prevent it from be ing dam aged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consis ts o f the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about 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 senso rs. The co ntro l
u nit a lso "dec ides " whet he r the safety be lt
pre tensione rs should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the d river inside the s teer­
i ng w hee l hub . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A we ight -sensing mat under t he up ho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat io n registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 141.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l o r i nstrument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ct ro nic c ontro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment o f the front Adv anced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
q page 142, fig. 152 and tells
you when the fron t Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A senso r below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
on t he safety be lt . T he tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or no t
q page 132, Child restraints on the
front s eat -some important things to
k now.
- A senso r in the safety be lt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the front seat passenger tha t
s enses w het he r th at safety bel t is latche d or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
elect ronic con trol un it.
A_ WARNING
D amage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Imp roper repai r or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
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-Repairs to the front passenger seat must
be performed by qualified and properly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or
driver seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work properly.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such
items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
unit.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air­ bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­
ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
Airbag system 139
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install child restraint in a rear seat­
ing position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adva need Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten­ sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
un it. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed 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
~ page 132, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know. .,.
•
•

140 Airbag system
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inf lates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much hig her .
- You w ill also receive serio us in juries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes -even with an Advanced Airbag
~ page 131.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig . 1 51 Inflated front a irbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supp lement al protection in a front al col­
lision.
Th e front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l prote ct io n for the chest a nd face of
the dr iver and the fr ont seat passenge r whe n:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as possi­
ble from t he a irbag,
- and the head rest raints have been properly
adjusted .
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 dan ­
ge ro us projectiles, an d be pushed into yo u if
the airbag inflates.
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle
. This dust is made up mostly of a
powde r used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy.
It could irr itate sk in.
It is impo rtant to remember th at w hile the
s u pplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injuries, other
i njur ies, for examp le swelling, br uis ing and
minor abrasions, can a lso happen when air­
bags inflate. A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lowe r parts of the body . Front a irbags
o nly supp lement the three point safe ty belts
in some fronta l collisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is h igh enough to deploy the air ­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off whe n a crash
occ urs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when t he crash decelerat ion meas ured by
the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic contro l unit .
The front passenger airbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occ u­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the fr ont a irbag on the
passe nger side has to be turned off by the
elect ronic control un it (the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and stays o n).
& WARNING
-
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can incr ease
t he r isk of se rio us i njury in crashes.
- To r educe t he risk of inju ry w he n the air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passenge rs
m ust alw ays sit in an upr igh t position,
m ust not lea n aga ins t or place any part
of their body too close to the area whe re
the airbags a re located .
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-Occ upants who are unbelted, out of posi­
t ion 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
¢ page 132.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag in flates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating a irbag w il l hit the child
sa fety sea t or infant carrier w ith g reat
f orce and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest , cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child sa fety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im ­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position a nd
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
authori zed Au di dealer .
A WARNING
Objects betwee n you and t he a irbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a crash by in­
t erfering wi th the way the air bag un folds
or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
inflates.
- Never hold th ings in your hands or on
yo ur lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport i tems on or in the area
of the front passenge r seat . Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec­
t il es that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate .
- Never place or attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cupholders, te le­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob -
-
Airbag system 141
jects) on the doors, ove r o r near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself . These
objects could cause in ju ry in a c rash , es ­
pecia lly when the airbags infla te .
- Never recline the front passenger 's sea t
to transport objects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. O bje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projec tiles and cause
in jur y, partic ula rly when the seat is re ­
clined .
A WARNING
The fine dust create d when air bags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­ ing cond itions .
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory conditions shou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your hands and face with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag
System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
T wo separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System ( incl uding the
electron ic co ntro l unit , se nsor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is mo nitore d continuously to
m ake su re that it i s fu nc tioni ng properly •
•

142 Airbag system
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each t ime yo u
turn on the ignition, the
II airbag monitoring
indicator light will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The sy stem must be in spect ed wh en the
fl ind icator light :
-does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driving .
If an airbag system malf unct ion is dete cted,
the ind icator light will firs t start flash ing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a mal func tion occurs that turns the fron t
airbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
c:> page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immed iate ly
by you r autho rized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inf late when it
is not s upposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it sho uld.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 152 Sect ion from the inst rumen t pa nel: PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF ligh t
-
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
c:>fig. 152.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electron ic contro l unit. Each
t ime you turn on the ignition , the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occ upied,
- will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the front passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been installed on the fron t
seat, o r
- a rearward-facing child rest rain t has bee n
installed o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forwa rd-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in­
stalled on the front passenger sea t, or
- the weight reg iste red on the front passen­
ge r seat is equal to or less t han t he com­
bined weight o f a typical 1 year -ol d restra in ­
ed in one of the rea r-facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restraints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
t h e front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will stay on. Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
t h e front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a ch ild in any k ind of ch ild restraint is at one
of the seating posit ions on the rear sea t
c:> page 132, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
c:> page 152, Child Safety.
If th e PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF light come s
o n
w hen o ne of the cond itions listed above is
met, be su re to check t he light regu larly to
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make certain that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuous ly whenever the
i gnit ion is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F
light does not appear and not stay on all
the t ime, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then turning it on again;
- 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 around the child restraint as descr i­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking re­
tractor on the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been act ivated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch on the seat can do its job
¢ page 162 .
-make sure that things that may increase the
weight of the chi ld and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen ­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the we ight-sensing mat to measure
more we ight than is actually on the seat.
If the PA SSEN GER AIR B AG OFF light st ill
do es not come o n
and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the chi ld restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat pos itions. Have the a irbag system
inspected by your author ized Audi dealer
i mmediately .
- move the ch ild to a rear seat posit io n and
make sure that the child is properly restrain­
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age.
A irbag system 143
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignitio n is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 113, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door o r support ­
ing thei r weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
tha t the re is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accesso ry sea t covers or cushions o r other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or imp ression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety be lt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add ition to the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
in the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
¢ page 19
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
It i s
-
•
•

144 Airbag sys tem
possible that the airba g will inf late when
it is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
A WARNING
If t he front airbag inflates, a ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make c ertain that a ll children, especially 12
years and younger, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always instal l forwa rd or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward -fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme ­
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by you r au­
tho riz ed Aud i deale r.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
wa rd-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is ac tually on the seat. The heavier
weight registe red can make the system
work as though an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re­
st raint on the front passe nger seat, a l­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sit io n in the seat's fo re and aft adjust­
me nt range, as f ar away from the airbag
as possib le. The b ackrest m ust be adjus t­
ed to an upr ight position. Make sure that the
PA
SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the ste ps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rea r sea ting pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front p assenger
se at.
(D Tips
If the weig ht-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat de te cts an empty seat, the
front air b ag on the p assenger side wi ll be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different places o n your Aud i. Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system and p revent that system from
working p roperly in a coll is io n.
There are some important t hings you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system w ill not be impaired and that dis­
ca rded components do not cause inju ry or pol­
lute the environmen t.
A WARNING
Imprope r care, serv ic ing and repair p roce­
dur es can increase the risk of personal in ­
ju ry and death by prevent ing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or dep loying
an a irbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct , or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or mod ify them
in any way .