ignition AUDI S3 2016 Workshop Manual

Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents .
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
ing position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt .
It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
176
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only) to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 151 Safety be lt warning light in the instrument clu s­
ter -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
(0
"'
"' 9
"' .. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
.. Protect children with a child restraint system
appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you will hear
a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
&_ WARNING
-
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.

Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 209 .
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chi l­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways ride in the back seat proper ly 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 ca n be a very dangerous place for an in­
fant or a c hild in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica­
b le at the time your vehicle was man ufa ct ur ed.
According to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PAS SENGER 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 you 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 capacitive 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
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith
which the Advanced Airbag System in your veh i­
cle was certified. Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle's
compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 211 .
186
- will stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chi ld re­
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detectio n system ~
page 196, Mon­
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than 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 208 w ith which the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi­
fied .
If the total electr ical capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old chi ld but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen­
ger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER 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 t urned off by the electron ic con trol
u nit and can dep loy if the con trol uni t senses an
impact t hat meets the conditions stored in its
memo ry.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y depl oy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 211), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce the r isk of in­
ju ry through interaction w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic contro l unit ¢
page 196, PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light. .,_

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by t he rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal co llision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
chi ld restraint a nd even seriously i njure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size -we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat
Q page 209, 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 k illed if the front air­
bag inf lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great fo rce and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center arm rest, door or roof.
- Always ins tall rear-facing child seats on the
rear seat.
-If you must install a rearward fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seat ing position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and ca use se­
rious person al injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except io nal circumst ances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-f acing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forwar d-fa cing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag .
.
Airb ag sys tem
-Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst 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 possible before installing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r th e ignit ion is switched on.
.8, WARNING
To reduce t he ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li gh t will
be d isplayed whenever a child res traint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 196, Monitoring the Advanced Air ­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off t he front passen ­
ger seat and install it prope rly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r immediately.
- Always care fully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints.
.8, WARNING
--
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re­
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat :
- Improper installat io n of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill th e chi ld -even
with a n Advan ced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
i n str uctions provided with the child seat or
car rie r.
187

,....,
N
0 > co ,...., 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.
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been installed on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
-Always install rearward-facing child re­ straints 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
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
Airbag system
-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 addi­
tional 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.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
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 Airbag
System in it . These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 196. Because
the front 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 Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
111-
191

Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
:~ (USA models ) / !f (Canad a model s)
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni ­
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
airbags and side c urtain airbags with ejection
mitigation features (including the e lectroni c con­
trol unit, sensors and system wiring) are all
monitored continuously to make sure that they
are funct ioning prope rly whenever the ignition is
on . Eve ry t ime yo u tur n on the igni tion, the air­
bag sys tem ind icator light
II (USA models)/ m
(Ca nada models) will come on for a few seconds
(func tion chec k).
The system must be inspected when the
indicator light
ffl (USA models) / fll
(Canada model s):
- does not come on w hen the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, or
- comes on wh ile driving .
I f an a irbag system ma lf u nction is detected, the
indicator light wi ll first sta rt flash ing to catch the
d river's atte ntion and then stay on co ntin uous ly
to serve as a constant reminder to have the sys­
tem inspected immed iate ly.
I f a malfunction occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenge r side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
ligh t will come on and stay on
wheneve r th e ignition is on .
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not f unct io ning prop­
er ly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicato r light ¢
page 21
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
t h e system inspected immediate ly by your
autho rized Aud i dealer . It is possible that
196
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig . 166 Center co nsole: passenger a irbag off warning
light
The PAS SENG ER AI R BAG OFF light is located in
the center of the instrument panel ¢
fig. 166.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come on
and stay on to tell you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic contro l unit . If the b ulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light b urns out, the
a irbag indicato r light
II (USA models)/ m
(Canada mode ls) wi ll come on to signa l a mal­
funct io n in t he Advanced Ai rbag System. A l­
though the burned -out bulb wi ll not change the
way the front passenger's frontal airbag works, it
will no longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light to make sure that the airbag
on/off status is correct for the occupant on the
front passenger seat . Have the airbag system in ­
spected immed iately by yo ur authorized Audi
dealer .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will blink
for about 5 seconds when:
-the ignition is sw itched on and
- the capacitive passenger detection system,
which switches the front seat passenger's fron ­
tal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects a
change in the status of the front passenger
seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
stops blinking, always make sure that the airbag
status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light is proper for the age, size and IJJ,,

,....,
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.

Child safety
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions require the top tether strap to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
-Always set the safety belt upper anchor­
age to the adjustment position that per­
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing the
child restraint. The backrest must be ad ­
justed to an upright position .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
210
-Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats) . These may influence the elec­
trical capacitance measured by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat­
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth­
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on
all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate­ ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi­
cle ¢
page 176, Safety belts, ¢ page 184,
Airbag system
and ¢ page 209, Impor­
tant information.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in­
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause
it to fail in another collision situation.