AUDI RS7 SPORTBACK 2016 Owners Manual

Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in w hich
a ir bags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the vehicle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly . Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only themse lves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig. 147. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
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!
Fig. 148 Dr iver is correctly restra ined in a sudden b raking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause se ri­
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to ca use injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk of injury in other k inds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Acciden t statist ics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident . Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions , in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other air bag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
129

Safety belts
_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never
remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts
over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
130
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never
remove, modify , disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel¢
table on page 195.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 149 Be lt buckle and tongu e on t he drive r's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must alw ays be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 52, General information.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt¢,&. .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig. 149.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle. .,,_

Automatic safety belt r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
c:;, page 133 . The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c:;, page 17.
Con vertible loc king retractor
Every safety belt exc ept the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this featu re
c;, page 169.
& WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:;, page 131,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
- If the rear seat ba ckrest is not securely
latched, the passenger wi ll move fo rward
with the ba ckrest during sudden b raking, in
a sudden mane uver and especially in a
c rash.
- Never a ttach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will red uce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrained
can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into cr itical areas like-the abdo ­
men .
Safet y bel ts
-Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when yo u are securing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
c;, page 171.
(0 Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
r efer to
c:;, page 133 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi ­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fi g. 1 50 Safety belt pos it ion
U se the height adjustme nt to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the fro nt safety belts .
& WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can ca use
se rio us pe rson al injury in an a cciden t.
- The s hou lde r belt should lie as close to the
center of t he collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the bo d y. Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should a lways fit
snug ly
¢fig. 150. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
i nj uries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious inj ury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c:;, page 129 .
131

Safe ty belts
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
corre ctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 151 Safety belt pos ition during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
¢ page 131.
... Adjust the front seat and ad justable head re­
straint* correctly ¢
page 52, General informa­
tion .
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelv is
r::;, fig. 151 , ¢ _&..
... Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch secure ly
¢page 130, fig. 149.
... Pull on t he be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious persona l injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢ &.
in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 131.
132
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle hos stopped.
.,,
Fig . 15 2 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
... Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r:::;, fig. 152. The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buck le
r::;, A .
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing inj ured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt he ight
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strop routing
con be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
F ig . 153 Safety belt height adj ustment for the front seats
- loop -around fittings
0 ,-. N 0 :i: .. m
The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the co llar bo ne as poss ible and s hou ld fit well
o n the body
r::;, .&. in Safe ty belt posi tion on
page 131. ..,,.

~ Push the loop-around fittings up qfig. 153 @,
or
~ squeeze together the(!) button, and push the
loop-around fittings
do wn@ .
~ Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important informat ion
qpage 129.
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly pos itioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
n ess of safety be lts and will
even i ncrease the
ris k of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the correct seat ing posi­
tion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and espec ia lly for children.
Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
Q A .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that al l vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay in a co rrect
seating pos it io n whenever the ve hicle is be­
ing used.
S afet y be lts
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important in format ion
q page 129.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Rever sible safety belt tensioner s
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power reversible tensioners. The following
funct ions are available when the dr iver's/front
passenger's safety belts are fastened:
- Automatic tens ioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the passenger after a certain time period or vehicle
speed. To switch the automatic tensioners off,
select the following in the MMI :
!CARI function
button
> (Car )* system s > Vehicle setting s >
Seats > Driver's seat or Passeng er' s s eat > Au­
tom atic belt ten sioner
> Off .
- In certain driving situations, the safety bel ts
may tighten w it h a reve rsib le tensioning func­
tion
q page 177.
-The safety be lts may also tigh ten with this re-
versible tension ing function in m inor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretens ioners
The safety belts are equipped w it h safety belt
prete nsioners. The system is activated by sensors
in front, side and rear -end collisions of great se­
verity and in a ro llover. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack
q .& in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 134.
Taking up
the slack he lps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
A WARNING
--
- It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrectly.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced.
133

Safety belts
(D Tips
The pyrotechnic safety be lt pretensioners can
only deploy once.
- The safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end co lli­
sions.
- A fine dust is released when the pyrotechnic
safety be lt pretensioners deploy. This is nor­
mal and is not caused by a fire in the vehi­
cle.
- The re levant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualified
dealership is familiar with these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the informa­
tion to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regulations if the veh icle or indi­
v idual parts of the system, pa rticularly the
safety be lt o r airbag, are to be disposed . We
recommend you have your authorized Audi
dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly :
- The be lt pretensioner system can be activat­
ed only once.
If belt pretensioners have
been act ivated, the system must be re­
placed .
134
-Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system .
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spec ial
procedures are required for removal, instal­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repa ir manual,
tra ining and special equipment necessary .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension­
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob­
served. 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 information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop­ er 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
9 page 119,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
9 page 53,
.,. Wear safety belts properly 9 page 129 ,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
9 page 159.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driv er or th e front s eat passenger is not seat ed
properly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to si t properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental pro tection
in certain frontal collisions
o page 119, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
o page 53.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly restrained
9page 159.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of th e Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im­
mediately after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward mov e­
ment . Togethe r they help to prevent the drive r
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another, it is not possi­
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will
II>
135

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed ; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
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 a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r=;, page 127 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
-If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rward, s it­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u 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.
136
-
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
r=;, page 130, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r=;, page 119.
-Always sit upright w ith 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 serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects nea r the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important details .,.

about children and Advanced Airbags
c::>page 159.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways 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
seat .
It can be a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica­
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru­
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS ·
S ENGER 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 the electrical capacitance meas ­
ured by the capac itive passenger detection sys­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed ­
era l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 with which the Advanced Airbag System i n
yo ur vehicle was ce rtified. For a l isting of the
child rest raints t hat were used to ce rtify your
vehicle's compliance with the Safety Standa rd
c::> page 161.
Airb ag sys tem
-wi ll stay on if there is a small child or c hild re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- will go
off if the front passenge r seat is occu ­
pied by an adult as registered by the capac itive
passenger detection system
c::, page 146, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less t han the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward­
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total e lec trical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen­
ger 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 electron ic con trol
u nit and can dep loy if the control unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions s tored in its
memory .
For example , th e airbag may deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats lis ted
c::> page 161), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
inst rument cluste r and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in­
jury through interact ion w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk " dep loymen t occurs in those crashes that
t ak e place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic cont rol unit
c::, page 147, PASSEN -
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Ill>
137

Airbag syste m
Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously injure the child
during inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children -when properly restrain­
ed according to their age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
¢ page 159, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BA G OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenger's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and certified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag .
138
-
-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is swi tched on.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild rest raint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
-If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 146 , Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen ·
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restra ints.
.8, WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re­
stra int on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any protect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kil l the child -even
w ith an Advan ced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat or
earner.