warning light AUDI S3 SEDAN 2015 Repair Manual

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.. Make sure that a ll windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside .
.. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
r=> page 59, r=> page 59.
.. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
.. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correct ly for your he ight.
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
stra ints according to their he ight .
.. Make sure to use the right child restraint cor­
rect ly to protect children
r=> page 172, Child
safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
r=> page 54, Front
seats .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it proper ly. Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their safe­
ty belts p roperly
r=> page 140.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver 's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis­
tracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the ve­
h icle and all of its occupants.
If your ability to
d rive is impaired, safety r isks for everybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
eve ryone else on the road
r=> &, . Therefo re:
.. Do not let you rself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
.. NEV ER dr ive when your dr iv ing abili ty is im­
paired (by medicat ions, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not dr ive
for more than two hours at a stretch .
.,. Do NOT drive when you are t ired, under pres­
su re or when you a re stressed.
Dri vin g s afe ty
A WARNING
-Impaired dr iving safety increases the risk of
serious personal injury and death wheneve r a
vehicle is being used .
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
F ig , 1 13 Correct seating pos it ion
For yo ur own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of a n accident, we recommend
that you adjust the dr iver's seat to the fo llowing
pos ition:
.,. Ad just the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
r=> &, .
.. Ad just t he angle of the seatbac k so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive .
.. Adjust the steering whee l so that there is a dis ­
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the steering wheel and your breast bone
r=> fig. 113.
If not poss ible, see your authorized Audi deal­
ership about adapt ive eq uipment.
.,. Ad just the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your che st a nd
no t at yo ur face .
.. Grasp the top of the steer ing whee l with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
.. For adjustab le head restraints: Adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi-
ble with the top of your head . If that is not pos­
sible, try to adj ust the head restraint so that it .,.
131

Safety belt s
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 correct ly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
L ik e all veh icle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety be lts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother - throughout
the ent ire 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 ch ildren, 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.
140
-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. 116 Safety belt warning light in the instrument cl us­
ter -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fas ten 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 s ize and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
light s up when the ign it ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts . In add ition, you will hear
a warn ing tone for a certain pe riod of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts .
&_ WARNING
-Safety belts are the sin gle most effect ive
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
F or 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, cou ld lead to personal injury .
-

Safety belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automatic
be lt retractor on the shou lder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the be lt is pulled o ut fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident . The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
S afety belt p rete n sioner s
The safety be lts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove s lack when the pretensioner is activated
¢ page 146. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
mon itored by a warning light
<=:>page 20.
Converti ble lock ing r etra ctor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a convertib le locking retrac­
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢page 182 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident¢
page 144,
Safety belt posi tion.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rea r seat back­
rest to which t he center rear safety belt* is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety be lt is being used .
If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen ­
ger wi ll move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck le
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be se riously in jured by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
144
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are secur ing a child seat in the ve­
hicle
¢page 184.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer to
¢page 146.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 123 Safety belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posit ion
of the shoulder belt of the front safety belts.
.&_ WARNING
I mp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
serio us pe rsonal injury in an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fi t well on the body. Ho ld the bel t
above the latch to ng ue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos ­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snug ly¢
fig. 123. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as poss ible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c::> fig. 123. Pu ll on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
~

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take place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
the electronic contro l unit ¢
page 160, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a chi ld seat or infant carrie r
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's a irbag in a frontal collision . The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even ser iously injure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restrain­
ed according to their age and s ize -we strongly
recommend that ch ild ren always s it in the back
seat
¢ page 172, Child safety .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat w ill be seri­
ously in jured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
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 mus t install a rearward facing child
seat on the front passenger seat beca use of
exceptional circ umstances 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 a irbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-fac ing ch ild seats installed on the
front passenger's seat may interfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­ rious persona l injury to t he ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t in­
stall a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenger's seat :
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
h as been designed and ce rtified by i ts man-
Airbag syste m
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put t he fo rward-facing child restraint
up aga inst or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as possible before installing the for­
ward-facing child restraint. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
= -To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke su re
that t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t will
b e d isplayed whenever a ch ild restr aint is in­
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, pe rform the checks describe d
~ page 160, Monitoring the Advanced Air ·
bag System.
-Take the chi ld restraint off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rea r seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dealer immediately.
- Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restraints.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you m ust in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing ch ild re­
straint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints can
red uce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced A irbag Sys tem.
~
151

Airbag system
and your passengers must always be properly re­
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low risk" require­
ments for 3 and 6 year-old chi ldren on the pas­
senger side and very small adu lts on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steer ing wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppress ion" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child r e­
straints that are listed in the Standard
¢ page 17 4, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to about one year of age is rest rained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-facing infant rest raints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified . For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi­
cle's comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢ page 174,
-When a person is detected on the front passen­
ger seat that has an electrica l capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re­
stra ints (listed in Federal Motor Veh icle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a total
elec trical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
154
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the control unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total electrica l capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than t hat of a
typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the we ight of a
small adult, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year -old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re­
gardless of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 17 4),
- a child who has outgrown chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instrument panel will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger ai rbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of inj ury through interaction with the airbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n the electronic control un it
¢ page 160.
Always remember: Even though yo ur 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 important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 148.

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A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child seat instal ­
led on the front passenger seat wi ll 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
c eivable s ituations that may happen dur ing
the useful life o f you r vehicle.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force an d will
smash the ch ild seat and child agains t the
backrest, center armrest, doo r, or roo f.
- Alw ays install rearward- facing child re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must i nst all a rearw ard facing child
sea t on the front passenger sea t beca use of
excep tional circ umstances 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 a irbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing ch ild restraint on the
front passenge r's seat:
-Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has be en designed and certified by its man­
ufact urer for use on a fro nt seat wit h a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child rest raint
up against or ve ry nea r the i nstr ument pan ­
el.
-Always move t he passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and aft
adjus tment range, as far away from the air ­
bag as possib le, before installing the fo r­
ward-facing c hild restraint . The backrest
must be adjusted to an up right position .
-
Airbag syste m
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the se at. T he presen ce of add i­
tion al ob jects could cause t he passenger
front airbag to be tu rned on when it shou ld
be off, or co uld cause the ai rbag to wo rk in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the ob ject on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OF F light comes on and stays on all the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced A irbag
System in it . T hese pa rts include the capacitive
passenge r detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more. The con trol unit mon itors the syste m
o n the front passenge r se at when the ig nition is
swi tched on and turns the airbag indicator ligh t
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 160 . Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced A irbag System, yo u m ust
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 consi sts
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
p rov ide i nfo rmat ion to the Advanced Airbag
System abo ut the sever ity o f the cr ash.
- An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
cr ash senso rs for front and s ide imp acts. The
cont ro l uni t "dec ides" whet her to fire the fron t
airbags based on the info rmation received from
the crash sensors . The control unit a lso "de ­
cides" whether the safety belt pretens ione rs
should be activated. ..,.
155

Airbag syste m
-An Advanced Airbag wi th gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument pane l for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger dete ct ion system under­
neath the front passenge r seat cover. This sys ­
tem measures the e lectrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger s ide.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster¢
page 160.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 198 a nd tells you when the front
Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been t urned off .
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the dr iver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
control unit .
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from work ing properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat w ill prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct ioning
properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the veh icle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
156
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur poc kets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capac itive passenger detection
sy stem, so that in correct info rmation is pro­
vided to the airbag cont rol uni t.
- Never store items under the front passenger
se at. P arts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, p reventing t hem and the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly.
- Never p lace sea t covers or rep lacement up ­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air ­
bag System from recognizing c hild re­
straints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side a irbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erw ise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, b lankets, or
sim ila r items on the front passenger seat .
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Adv ance d Airbag System from
wo rking properly .
- Never p lace or u se any e lectr ic al device
(s uc h a s a laptop, CD player, elec tronic
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 lighter soc ket. Such
dev ices can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capac itive passe nger detection
system, so that incorrect info rmation is pro-
vided to the ai rbag cont rol unit.
~

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-If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer's instructions requ ire the use of a
towel, foam cushion or someth ing else to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the
P A SSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever the
child restrain t is ins talled on the fron t pas­
senger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately in­
sta ll child restra int in a rear seating 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 liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work­ ing properly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal a irbag. If th is
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
II in the inst ru­
me nt cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may a lso keep the airbag sys­
tem from wor king proper ly and cause the
passenger fron tal ai rbag to be ena bled
(turned on), even tho ugh there is a properly
installed chi ld restraint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat c u shion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will go
o ut.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The fron t Advanced A irbag Sys tem and the s ide
ai rbags supplement the pro tect ion offered by the
front three-point safety be lts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re­
straints* to he lp red uce the risk of in jury in a
wide range of acc ident and cras h situations. Be
Airbag syste m
su re to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment o f the Adv anced A irbag System and
the ac tivation of the sa fety belt pretensione rs de ­
pend on the dece lerat ion meas ured by the crash
sensors and registered by the e lectronic control
u nit . Cras h seve rity depends on speed and decel­
eration as we ll as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On t he passenger side, regardless of safety belt
u se, the front passenger fronta l airbag will be
turned off if the electrical capacitance meas ured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount programmed in the electronic control unit . T he
front passeng er fronta l airbag will a lso be turned
off if the capac itance meas ured by t he system for
the front passenger sea t eq uals tha t of an inf ant
of about one year o f age in one of t he chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal 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 c::>page 160 .
&_ WARNING
-To reduce the risk of in jury w hen an a irbag in-
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly .
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of posit ion i n any way,
your r is k of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive se rious injur ies an d
could even be killed if you a re up aga inst th e
ai rbag or too close to i t when i t in flates -
even with an A dvan ced Airb ag
<=:> page 14 8.
157

Airb ag syst em
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 130 Inflated front airbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
ai rbags can unfold properly and provide supple­
mental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
tional protection for the chest and face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as poss ible
from the a irbag,
- 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, things 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 likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swell ing, bruising and m inor abra­
sions, can also happen when a irbags 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 frontal collisions
158
in which the vehicle dece le ration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not depl oy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash oc-
curs ,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end col lisions,
- 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 unit.
The front pa ssenger a ir b ag als o will n ot
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectrical capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas ­
senger s ide frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER
A IR BAG OFF
light ¢ page 160 and how they
work comes on and stays on).
.&, WARNING
Sitt ing in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in cras hes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags
inflate, the driver and passenge rs must al­
ways sit in an upright position, must not lean aga inst or place any part of thei r body
too close to the area w here the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
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
~ page 149 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild seat insta l­
led on t he front passenger seat w ill be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front a ir­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
- The infla ting air bag will hit the ch ild seat o r
infant carrier wi th grea t fo rce and will

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0 > co ,...., \!) 1.1'1
1.1'1
1.1'1
,....,
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.
159