seats AUDI S3 2016 Owner's Guide

Airbag syste m
restrained, not just because the law requires you
to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to meet the "low r isk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment cr iteria are intend­
ed to he lp reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
a nd instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for i nfants 12 months old and younger who a re
restrained on the front passenger seat in ch ild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standa rd
¢ page 211, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
" Suppression" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be tu rned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is restra ined
o n the fro nt passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi ­
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 211,
-When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrica l capacitance t hat
is more than the tota l electrical capacitance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith w hich the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenge r side may or may not
deploy.
The
P ASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the e lectron ic cont rol un it detects a total
e lectr ica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front a irbag to be turned off. If
the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
190
has not been turned off by the contro l uni t and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typica l 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adu lt, t he front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PA SS ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
For e xample , the ai rbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f the
child seats listed
¢ page 211),
-a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is t urned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requ ires the airbag to meet the "low
r isk" dep loyment criteria to he lp reduce the r isk
of inju ry through interaction with the airbag .
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit ¢
page 196.
Alwa ys remembe r: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for children is properly restrained on the back
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that fo llow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much highe r.
- You will also receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when i t inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 184.

Airbag syste m
-An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator ins ide
the instr ument pane l for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detect io n system unde r­
neath the front passenger seat cover . This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the person in th e seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electron ic control
unit to regula te deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 196.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation reg istered is sent continuously to the
electronic control un it to regulate deployment
of the fro nt Advanced A irbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
panel ¢
page 236 and tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the p assenge r side has
been turned off .
- A sensor in the safety belt la tch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whethe r that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic contro l unit.
.&_ WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repa ir or disassemb ly of the front
passenger and driver seat w ill prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qua lified and prope rly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or dr iver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
192
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat . Such ob­
jects ca n influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
sys tem, so tha t incorrect informat io n is pro­
vided to the a irb ag cont rol unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
se at. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
un der the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys ­
tem from wor king p roper ly .
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing chi ld re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restra int system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, p illows, blankets, or
sim ila r items o n the front passenger seat .
The additional layers prevent the capacit ive
passenge r detection sys tem from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the sea t and
t hus keep the Advanced A irbag System from
wo rking properly.
- Never p lace or use any e lectr ic al device
(such as a lap top, CD player, e lectronic
games device , power inve rter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighte r socket. Such
dev ices can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capaci tive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informat io n is pro-
vided to the airbag cont rol unit.
~

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., -If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat an d the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
properly pos ition the ch ild rest raint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child res trai nt is insta lled on the fron t pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immedia tely in­
sta ll child res traint in a rear se ating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
,&_ WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­
mediately.
- If liqu id soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work­ ing properly and may, for instance, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag ind icator light
fl (USA mod els)/
fll (Ca nada models) i n the ins trument clus­
t er.
- If liquid is poo led on t he seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the a irbag sys ­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenger frontal ai rbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though the re is a properly
installed ch ild restraint system on the seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet t hings on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
fro nt passenger frontal airbag is t urned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will go
o ut.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System an d the side
ai rbags s upplement the protection offered by the
front three -point safety be lts with p retensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
stra ints* to help reduce the risk of injury in a
wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
Airb ag sys tem
su re to read the important in format ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
D eployment of the Adv anced A irbag System and
the ac tivation of the safety belt pretensioners de ­
pend on the dece le ration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and dece l­
eration 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
u se, the front passenge r frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amou nt
programmed in t he e lectron ic co ntrol unit. The
front passenge r frontal a irbag w ill also be turned
off if the capaci tance measu red by the sys tem for
the fron t passenger se at equals th at of a n in fan t
of about one year of age in one of t he ch ild seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem under Fe d era l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off
r=:> page 196 .
,&_ WARNING
-To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in-
flates, always wea r safe ty be lts prope rly.
- If you are u nrestra ined, leaning forward, si t­
ting sideways or ou t of posi tion in a ny way,
your r is k of injury is much hig he r.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you a re up against the
a ir bag or too close to it when i t in flates -
even with an Advan ced Airb ag
<=:>page 184.
193

Airbag system
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 165 In fla ted fro nt airb ags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­ p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly ,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag,
- and for adjustable head restraints: the head re-
straints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, thing s you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro­
jectiles , and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irritate sk in .
It is important to remember that while the sup ­
plemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likel ihood of serious injur ies , other injuries,
for example swel ling , bruising and m inor abra­
sions, can a lso happen when airbags inflate. Air­
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three ­
point safety belts only in some fronta l co llisions
194
in which the vehicle decele ration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the igni tion is sw itched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side collisions ,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic control un it .
The front passenger airbag also will not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat ind icates that the pas ­
senger s ide frontal a irbag must be switched off
by the electronic control un it (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light ~ page 196 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
.&, WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in cras hes .
- To reduce the risk of in jury w hen the airbags
inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posit ion
or too close to the airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye
c?) page 185 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal ­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
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

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., 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 because of
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG 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
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air­ bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never place or transport objects on the front passenger seat. Objects on the front passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
Airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat.
- 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 some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject 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.
_LD. WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can cause breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions.
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­ ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating .
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes, flush them with water .
195

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., electrical capacitance of the person occupying
the front passenger seat . Always make sure that
the safety belt for the front passenger seat is
properly fastened.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show
the status of the front seat p assenger' s fr ontal
Ad vanced Airbag a few se cond s after the igni·
tion i s swit ched on and the ai rbag in d icator
light goes off . The PA SSEN GER AIR BA G OFF
light :
-will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- wi ll stay on if the electrical ca pacita nee meas­
ured by the capacit ive 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
o r fo rwa rd-facing ch ild restraints listed in Fed­
era l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cl e was certified; Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 211 .
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restrai nt has been in­
sta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forwa rd-facing child restra int has bee n instal­
l ed on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the e lectr ic al capaci tance registered on
the front passenger seat is equal to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year­ o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward -facing chi ld restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front airbag w ill not deploy, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward -fac ing ch ild restraint on the front pas-
Airb ag sys tem
senger seat, the safest place for a chi ld in any
kind of child restraint is at one of the seating po ­
s itions on the rear seat¢
page 185, Child re­
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ¢ page 209, Child safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when one of the conditions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regu larly to make cer­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight
stays on continuously whenever the ignition is
on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not appear on and does no t stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- react ivate the system by turning the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds a nd then turn ing it
on again;
- remove and re insta ll the chi ld restraint. Make
sure that the chi ld restraint is properly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been correct ly routed through
the child restraint as described in the c hild re­
straint manufacturer's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac ­
tor on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no e lectr ica l device (such as a
laptop, CD player, e lectron ic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for ch ild seats) is
placed or used on the fro nt passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro ­
fitted or othe rw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that not hing can inte rfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenge r seat cushion. .,..
197

Airbag system
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on and does not stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
S seconds while driving, under these circumstan­
ces, make s ure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backres t is not recl ined,
- the adu lt is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
culate electrical capacitance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
- If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
198
about S seconds to catch the driver's atten­
tion. If this happens, always stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri­
bed above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go off when an adult who is not very
small is sitting on the front passenger seat
after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer befo re trans­
porting anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection in a fronta l crash.
- If the airbag indicator light~
page 21
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer.
It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint that has not been properly insta lled
will be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that a ll children, especially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for their age and size.
-Always install forward or rear-facing child seats on the rear seat -even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
except ional circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
stay on, immediately install the rear-facing
child seat in a rear seat ing position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dea le r.
~

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., -If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
insta ll a forward-fac ing ch il d restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possib le . The backrest
must be ad justed to an up right posit ion.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an ad ult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adu lt is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seat ing pos itions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer before transport ing anyone on
the front passenger seat .
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Pa rts of t he air bag system are i nstalled at many
d ifferen t places on your Aud i. Insta lling , remov­
ing, servi cing or repa iring a part in an area of the
ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from working properly
in a co llision .
There are some important things you have to
know to mak e sure that the effectiveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or poll ute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de-
-
Airb ag sys tem
ploying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any ob jects s uch as c up ho lders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened with p lain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cove r or change
the st iffness o r strength of the material so
that the ai rbag cannot deploy and p rotect
p rope rly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in­
cludi ng the ins tall ation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and C B radios , etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualif ied techn ic ian
who has the t raining and spec ial equ ipment
necessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend that you see yo ur au­
thor ized Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop .
- Never modify the front bumpe r or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholste ry ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specifica lly approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cove r the areas where the sid e airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module must always be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an au thori ze d Aud i dealer .
- The airb ag system can deploy on ly once. Af­
ter an airb ag h as been deployed, i t must be
replaced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approve d espec ially for your
Audi mo del version . Replacement of com­
p lete airbag systems or airbag components
199

Airbag syste m
interior in certain side impacts and vehicle
rollovers.
The s ide curta in a irbag system supplements the
safety belts and can he lp to reduce the r is k of in­
jury for occupants' heads and upper torso on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in a side co lli­
sion. The side curtain airbag inflates in side im­
pacts and on ly when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is h igh enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in ­
to the control un it, the side curta in a irbag w ill
not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision.
It is
not possib le to define an airbag trigger ing range
that will cover every poss ible angle of impact,
since the circumstances will vary considerab ly be ­
tween one collision and another . Important fac­
tors incl ude, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the impacting object, the ang le of im­
pact, vehicle speed, etc .
q page 207, How side
curtain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in posit ion in the event of a collision so
that the side curtain airbags can provide protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a substitute for your safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re ­
membe r th at the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you a re wearing your safety belt
and wear ing it properly . T his is anothe r reason
why you should a lways wear your safety belts,
not just because the law requires you to do so
q page 176, General notes.
It is important to remember that whi le the s ide
curtai n airbag system is des igned to he lp red uce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example, swe lling, b ruising, friction burns
and minor abrasions can also be assoc iated with
these airbags upon deployment . Remember too,
these airbags will deploy only once and only in
certa in kinds of acc idents -your safety be lts are
always there to offer protection .
206
The side curtain airbag system basically
consists of :
-The e lectronic cont ro l mod ule and externa l side
impact sensors
- The side curtain airbags above the front and
rear side windows with ejection mitigat ion fea­
tures
- The ai rbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The airbag system is mon itored e lectron ica lly to
make certain it is functioning properly at all
times. Each t ime you switch on the ignition, the
airbag system ind icator light will come on for a
few seconds (se lf diagnostics) .
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
-if the ignition is switched off,
- in side collisions whe n the accele ration meas -
ured by the sensor is too low,
- in rea r-end co llisions .
.&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the air bag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are in
the proper seating position
q page 58,
Front seats.
- I f the airbag ind icator light q page 21
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c:> page 177, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel­
oped, they requ ire restraint systems especially
des igned for their size, we ight , and body struc­
ture. Many countr ies and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir­
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20-3 5 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . This means the weight of the
child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds
(120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro­
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the risk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident .
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in­
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
your child's size
c:> page 212, Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in­
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in chi ld restraints are
on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important information, we cannot re-
Ch ild safety
peat it all here. We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans­
porting children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe­
ty of your passengers, especially infants and small chi ldren.
_& WARNING
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than in the front seating position . Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly restrained child cou ld be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
h icle during a sudden maneuver or impact .
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
-A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci­
dent situat ions .
_& WARNING
f"-"---
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or
even killed when an airbag inflates . A child in
a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be seriously i njured and can be killed if the front airbag in­
flates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the backrest, center armrest, or
door.
- Always install rear-fac ing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
209