warning AUDI S3 2015 Owners Manual

142 Safety belts
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side ond rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in o rollover, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safety belt tensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equip­
ped with power reversible tensioners . Th e fo l­
lowing functions are available when the driv­
er's/front passenger's safety belts are fas­
tened:
- Automatic tensioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety be lts automatically adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or ve­
hicle speed.
- In certa in driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten with a reversible tensioning
f unction
~ page 94 .
- The safety belts may also tighten with this
reversible tensioning function in m inor colli­
sions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with safety be lt
p retensioners. The system is activated by sen ­
sors in front, side and rear -end collisions of
great severity and in a rollover. This tightens
the belt and takes up be lt slack ¢.&.
in Service
and disposal of safety belt pretensioner on
page 142.
Taking up the s lack helps to reduce
forward occupant movement during a colli­
sion .
A WARNING
-It is possible for the pretensioners to de­
ploy incorrect ly .
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide protection for one collision .
If the pyro­
technic pretensioners dep loy, the preten­
sioning system must be replaced.
@ Tips
The pyrotechnic safety belt pretens ioners
can only deploy once . -
The safety belt p retensioners do not de ­
ploy in minor frontal and side collisions,
in rear-end co llisions, in rollovers and in
co llisions involving very little impact
force.
- A fine dust is released when the pyro­ technic safety belt pretensioners deploy.
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. A
qualified dealership is fam iliar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ­
menta l and other regu lations if the veh i­
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
pretensioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Installing, remov­
ing, servic ing or repairing of belt pretension­
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a co lli­
sion .
T he re a re some important things you have to
know to make su re that the effectiveness o f
the system wi ll not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol­
lu te the environment.
A WARNING
-Improper care, servic ing and repair proce-
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by prevent ing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be act i­
vated only once. If belt pretensioners have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
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Airbag system 145
Since the circumstances will vary considerab ly
also at greater risk of injury or death
between on e collision and another , it is not
through contact with an inflating airbag .
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
sitting sideways or out of position in any
of impact that will always trigger the a irbags .
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
Important factors include, for example, the -You will a lso receive serious injuries and
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the could even be killed if you are up against
•
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
• the airbag or too close to it when it in-
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
flates - even with an Advanced A irbag.
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air-
Alwa ys re memb er: Airbags will deploy only bag inflates, always wear safety belts
once, and only in certa in kinds of co llisions. properly
c::;, page 138, Safety belts
.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro- -
Always make certain that ch ildren age 12
tection in those s ituations in which airbags or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
are not s upposed to deploy , or when they have children a
re not properly restrained , they
already deployed ; for example , when your ve- may be severe
ly inju red or killed when an
hide strikes or is struck by another vehicle af- airbag inf
lates.
ter the first collision . -
Never let ch ildren ride un restra ined o r
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is improperly restrained
in the vehicle . Ad-
just the front sea ts prope rly.
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti -
-Never ride with the back rest reclined .
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
-Always sit as far as possible from the
works most effect ively when used with the
steering whee l or the instrument panel
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
c::;, page 126 . your safety belts c::;, page 135 .
- Always sit upright with your back against
A WARNING the backrest of yo ur seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
panel or on the seat . Always keep both
instrument panel will dec rease the effec-
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
help prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision.
and hips if the airbag deploys.
- Never si t closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
-Never recline the front passenger's sea t
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan-
to transport objects. Items can a lso
el. move into the area of the s ide a irb ag or
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
the front airbag during bra king or in a
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi-
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air-
ga te whethe r adap tive equipmen t may
bags can become projectiles and cause
be available to help you reach the pedals injury when an airbag inflates.
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
A WARNING
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil -
dren m ust be restrained properly when- A
irbags that have deployed in a crash must
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestra ined be replaced.
or improperly restrained child could be -
Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap-
M injured by striking the inter ior or by be- proved by Audi and installed by a trained • N technician who has the necessary too
ls ~ 0 ing ejected from the vehicle during a > co sudden maneuver or impact . An unre-,...., \!) ..,., strained or imp roperly rest rained child is M ..,., ,....,

146 Airbag sys te m
and dia gnostic equipmen t to pro perly re­
place any a irbag in y our vehicle and
assure system eff ectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycle d air­
bags to be installed in your veh icle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
~ Be sure to read the important informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de­
ta ils about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
Qpage 170.
Even though your vehicle is equ ipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all c hildren, 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 seat. It can be a
ve ry dangerous place for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require­
ments of United States Federal Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup ­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restra ined in one of the rear-facing o r fo r­
ward-facing infan t restra ints listed in Federal
M otor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 172.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the e lectronic control unit. E
ach time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will come on for a
few seconds and :
- w ill stay on if the front passenge r seat is not
occupied,
- w ill stay on if the e lec trica l ca pa citance
meas ured by the capacitive passenger de ­
tection system for the front passenger seat equa ls the combined capacitance of an in ­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with wh ich the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified . For a listing of the chi ld restraints
tha t were used to certify you r vehi cle's com­
p lia nce w it h t he U.S. Safety Standard
Q page 172.
-w ill stay on i f there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenge r seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca ­
pacitive passenger de tection system
c::> page 156, Monitoring the Advanced Air·
bag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less tha n
the comb ined capacitance of a typica l 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder­
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve­
hicle was certified.
If the total electr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year -o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adult , the front airbag on
t h e passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side has not been turned off by t he e lec­
t ro ni c cont ro l unit and can deploy if the con­
t ro l uni t se nses an impact tha t mee ts the con-
di tions stored in its memory .
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Fo r exa mple, the a irbag may depl oy if:
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld seats listed
page 172), or
- a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criter ia to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control unit
r::> page 15 7, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant carri­
er insta lled on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly in­
flating passenger's airbag in a frontal colli­
sion. The airbag could greatly reduce the ef­
fectiveness of the child restraint and even se­
riously injure the child during inflat ion.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children -when properly
restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
r::> page 170, Child Safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat in­
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
- T he inflating airbag will hit the child seat
or infant carrier with great force and wi ll
smash the child 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 facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
-
A irbag system 147
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately install the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your A udi dealer.
- Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the a irbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke s ure 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 passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ig nit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the ri sk of ser ious injury, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
chi ld restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, perform the checks de­
scribed¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad-
vanced Airbag System.
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148 Airbag system
-Take the child 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 Audi dealer immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stalling child restraints .
A WARNING ,.
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur­
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the
seat. The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the
seat.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants .
Fig. 129 Loc atio n of drive r ai rb a g : i n steering wheel
Fig. 130 Loc atio n of fro nt passe nge r's airbag: in the in­
st rumen t panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub
c:> fig. 129 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
c::;, fig. 130. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
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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 ex tremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in ­
fants and small children .
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts .
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve ­
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in­
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air­
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in­
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
Airbag system 149
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG " on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu­
sic players. Such objects could cause seri­
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air ­
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver . Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re­
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
-=
A person on the front passenger seat , es-
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3-and 6-year-old children under the
•
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the passenger side may deploy (the PASS EN­
GER AIR B AG OFF
light does not come on).
For exa mple, the ai rba g may d epl oy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the ch ild seats listed
¢ page 172),
- a ch ild who has outgrown child restra ints is
on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel w ill come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk " deployment criteria to help re·
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control unit
r=> page 156.
Alwa ys r em emb er: E ven 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 in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always 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 higher .
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in·
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
r::!v page 144.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child sea t in­
stalled on the front passenger sea t will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
-
A irbag system 15 1
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad·
vanced Airbag System .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely guarantee that deployment is im­
possible in all conceivable s ituations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with grea t force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or
roof.
- Always install rearward -facing chi ld re­
straints on the rear seat .
- I f you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG O FF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i·
ately install the rear-fac ing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacture r fo r u se on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-faci ng child re­
straint up against or ve ry near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenge r 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 installing
the forward-fac ing chi ld restraint . The
backrest must be adj usted to an upright
position.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will •
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152 Airbag sys te m
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually s itting on the
seat. The presence of additional objects
cou ld cause the passenger front airbag
to be t urned on when it sho uld be off, or
cou ld cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the
seat.
- Make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
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
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it . These parts include the
capacitive passenger de tect ion system, wir­
ing, b ra ck ets, and more. The cont ro l unit
monitors the system on the front passenger
seat when the ign ition is switched on and
turns the airbag indicato r light on when a
malfunction in the one of the system compo­
nents is detected¢
page 157 . Because the
fro nt passenger seat contains important parts
of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Ad­
vanced A irbag System for the front passenger
se at from doing i ts job in a c rash.
The front Advanced Airbag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the fro nt of the ve hicle that
m easure ve hicle accelera tion/de celera tion
to provide info rmation to the Advanced Air­
bag System abo ut the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic cont ro l u nit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts.
The cont ro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l unit also "decides" whether the sa
fety belt
pretensioners sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generato r for
the driver inside the steering wheel h ub.
- An Advance d Airbag w ith g as generato r in­
side the inst rument panel for the front pas ­
senger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system un­
de rneath the front passenger seat cover .
This system meas ures the electrical capac i­
tance of the person in the seat. The informa ­
tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to the
electronic control un it to regu late deploy­
ment of the front Advanced A irbag on the
passe nger side .
- An airbag monitor ing system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster¢
page 156 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in­
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ct ron ic contro l unit to regula te de­
p loyment of the front Adva nced A irb ags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of t he instr u­
ment p anel ¢
page 217 and t ells yo u when
the fron t Advanced Airbag on the passenge r
side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch for the driv ­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether t hat safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control un it.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from wor king
p roperly.
- Improper repair or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver sea t will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never remov e the front passenger o r
d river seat from the vehicle.
-

Airbag system 153
-Never remove the upholstery from the senger seat if the device is connected to
front passenger seat . the 12-volt socket or the cigarette light-
- Never disassemble or remove parts from er socket. Such devices can influence the
the seat or disconnect wires from it. capacitance registered by the capacitive
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets passenger detection system, so that
in-
or put them on the seat. The capacitive correct information is provided to the air-
passenger detection mat in the front bag control unit
.
•
-If you must use a child restraint on the • passenger seat will not function properly
if it is punctured . front passenger seat and the child
re-
- Never carry things on your lap or carry straint manufacturer's instructions
re-
objects on the front passenger seat. quire the use of a
towel, foam cushion or
Such objects can influence the capaci -something else
to properly position the
tance registered by the capacitive pas- child restraint, make certain that the
senger detection system, so that incor-
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
rect information is provided to the airbag on and stays on whenever the child re-
control unit. straint is installed on the front passen-
- Never store items under the front pas- ger seat.
senger seat. Parts of the Advanced Air- -
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
bag System under the passenger seat does not come on and stay on, immedi-
could be damaged, preventing them and ately
install child restraint in a rear seat -
the airbag system from working proper- ing position and have the airbag system
ly. inspected by your Audi dealer
.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
A WARNING upholstery that have not been specifical-
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
immediately.
Airbag System from recognizing child re- -If liquid soaks into the front passenger
straints or occupants on the front pas-
seat, this can keep the airbag system
senger seat and prevent the side airbag from working properly and may, for in-
in the seat backrest from deploying prop- stance, deactivate the passenger frontal
erly .
airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER
-If a seat heater has been retrofitted or AIR BAG OFF light will come on and stay
otherwise added to the front passenger on together with the airbag indicator
seat, never install any child restraint sys-
light
fl in the instrument cluster.
tern on this seat. -If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
not soaked in, this may also keep the air-
similar items on the front passenger bag system from working properly and
seat. The additional layers prevent the cause the passenger frontal airbag to be
capacitive passenger detection system
enabled (turned on), even though there
from accurately measuring the capaci-
is a properly installed child restraint sys-
tance of the child safety seat and/or the
tern on the seat. Wet towels or other wet
person on the seat and thus keep the Ad- things on the seat cushion can have the
vanced Airbag System from working same effect.
If the front passenger fron-
properly. tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
M -Never place or use any electrical device AIR BAG OFF light will go out. • N
0 > (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic co ,...., games device, power inverter or seat \!) 1.1"1
M
heater for child seats) on the front pas-1.1"1 ,....,

154 Airbag system
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 saf ety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjus table head restr aints* to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions. Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety belt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat ion measured
by the crash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control u nit. Crash sever ity 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, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l airbag
will be turned off i f the e lectrical capac itance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenge r seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­ ic control unit. The front passenger frontal air­
bag will also be turned off if the capacitance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ge r seat equa ls that of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age i n one of the child sea ts that was
used to cer tify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced A irbag System on the passen­
ger s ide has been turned off¢
page 157.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of inj ury is much higher.
- You wi ll also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in- flates
-even w ith an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 144.
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 1 31 Inflated f ro nt a irba gs
-...
q :r:
iZ
Safety be lts are important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that a irbags can unfold proper ly and pro­
vide supplemental protect ion in a frontal col­
lis ion .
The front airbags are designed to provide ad­ ditional protection for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn proper ly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and for ad justab le head restraints : the head
restraints have been properly adj usted .
Bec ause airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat co uld become dan ­
gerous pro jecti les, and be p ushed into you if
the a irbag inf lates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is no rma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It could irr itate skin .
It is important to remembe r that while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the like lihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for examp le swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air-
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
IIJI,