child restraint AUDI S3 SEDAN 2018 User Guide

Airbag syste m
Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The air­
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously injure the ch ild
during inflation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children
-when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size
-we strongly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢ page 294, Child safety.
.8, WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child
seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances 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 rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
- Forward-facing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r's seat may interfe re with
the deployment of the airbag and cause se­
rious persona l injury to the child.
.8, WARNING
If, in except ional circumst ances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and ce rt ified by its man ­
ufact urer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag .
272
-
- Never put the fo rwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost posit ion in the seat's fo re and aft
ad justmen t range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-f acing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
wheneve r the ignit ion is switched on .
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild rest raint is in­
stalled on the front passenge r seat and the
ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 281 , Monitoring the Advanced Air­
bag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear sea t positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspec ted by your
Aud i dea le r i mmediately.
- Always carefully follow ins tructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when instal­
ling child restra ints .
.8, WARNING
I f, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fa cing child re­
str aint on the fron t passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child res traints can
redu ce the ir effectiveness or even preven t
them from provid ing any pro te ct ion .

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-An improper ly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child
-even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat or
carrier .
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the capacit ive 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 .
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu­
pants.
Fig. 236 Loc ation of driver a irbag: in ste .e ring wheel
Airbag system
Fig. 237 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in­
st rum ent panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Air­
bag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your veh icle was manufactured.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
¢ fig. 236 and the airbag for the front pas­
senger is in the instrument panel
¢fig . 237. The
general location of the airbags is marked "AIR­
BAG ".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle . We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS
-they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
_& WARNING
-Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in-
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
..,.
273

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
be lts. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occupant re­
stra int system in your vehicle. A lways remember
that the airbag system can on ly help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe­
ty belt and wear ing it properly . This is why you
and your passengers must always be prope rly re­
stra ined, not just beca use the law req uir es yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rt ified to meet the " low r isk" requ ire­
ments fo r 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the d rive r
side . The low r is k dep loymen t cr iteria are intend ­
ed to he lp reduce t he ris k of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l
and instrument pane l when the airbag inflates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to t urn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re­
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
<=:> page 297, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
"Suppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned
off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear­
facing or forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with wh ic h the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the c hild
r estra in ts tha t were used to certify your ve hi­
cl e's comp lian ce wi th t he US S afety St andard
<=:> page 29 7,
- When a person is de te cte d on the fron t passen ­
ger sea t th at has an electr ica l capaci tance t hat
is mo re t han t he tota l electrical capac itance of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rea r-facing or forward-facing infant re ­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your ve hicle was certified), the front
Airbag syste m
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes o n
whe n the elect ronic con trol uni t detec ts a t otal
electrica l capacitance on the front passenger seat
t h at requires the front airbag to be turned
off . If
t h e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned
off by the contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses a n impact
t h at meets the cond it ions stored in its memory .
If the total electr ica l capacitance reg istered o n
the front passenger seat is more t han that of a
typ ical 1 year-old , but less than the weight of a
small ad ult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if :
-a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed
¢ page 297),
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenge r ai rbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
the instr ument pane l will come on and stay on.
If the front passenge r airbag deploys, the Feder ­
al Standard requi res t he airbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp reduce the r is k
of i njury through interaction with the a irbag.
"Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
t h at take place at lower decelerations as defined
i n t he electron ic co ntro l
unit ¢ page 281 .
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
for ch ildre n is properly restra ined o n the back
seat . Please be s ure to read the impo rtant in for­
mation in the sect ions that fo llow a nd be sure to
heed all of the WAR NIN GS.
_&. WARNING
To redu ce th e r is k of injury when an air bag in -
fl ates, always wea r sa fe ty be lts properly .
...,
275

Airbag syste m
-If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
your risk of injury is much h igher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced
Airbag ¢ page 269.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­ ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof .
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately insta ll the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating position
and have the airb ag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in ­
stall a forward-facing chi ld 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 a irbag.
276
-
- Never put the fo rward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore and aft
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir­
bag as poss ible, before installing the for­
ward-f acing chi ld restrain t.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in fron t of the child rest raint
so th at the s afety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure th at there is noth ing 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 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 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 th at is differen t from the w ay it wou ld
have worked without the objec t on the seat .
- Ma ke sure th at the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght 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 pa rts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, brackets,
and more . T he control unit monitors the system
o n the front passenger seat when the ignit ion is
switched on a nd turns the airbag indicato r light
o n when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is
detected ¢ page 281. Because
t h e fron t passenger sea t contains impo rtan t
parts of the Advanced Ai rbag System , you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
.,.

Airbag syste m
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games dev ice, power inverter 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 socket. S uch
devices can infl uence the capacitance reg is ­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man­
ufacturer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
properly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight comes on and stays on whenever the
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger se at.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immedia tely in­
st al l child res traint in a rear seating posi tion
and have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
A 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, deact i­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
m in the instru­
ment cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irb ag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
installed chi ld restraint system on the seat.
278
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will go
out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The fro nt Advanced A irbag System and t he side
airbags supp lement t he protection offered by the
front t hree-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints* to help red uce the risk of inj ury
i n a wide range of accident and crash sit uations.
Be sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de ­
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic contro l
unit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel­
e ration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal a irbag will be
turned off if the electr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenge r detection system o n
t h e front passenger seat is less tha n the amount
prog rammed in t he elec tron ic cont ro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
o n and stays on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag Sys tem on t he passenger side has
been t urned
off ~ page 281 .
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safe ty belts p rope rly.
- If you are un res tra ined, le a ning forwar d, si t­
ting sideways or out of posi tion in any way,
your ris k of injury is much higher.
Ill>

Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will show the status of the front seat passenger 's frontal
Advan ced Airbag a few seconds after the igni­
tion is switched on and the airbag indicator
light goes off. The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light:
- will stay on if the front passenge r seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the elect rical capac itance meas­
u red by the capac itive passenger detection sys ­
tem fo r the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of a n infant up to about
o n e year of age and o ne of the rearward -facing
o r fo rwa rd-facing chi ld restra in ts lis ted in Fed­
era l Mo to r Ve hicle Safety Sta ndar d 208 w it h
w hich the Advance d Airbag Syste m in your ve hi­
cl e w as c ertified; Fo r a listing o f the chi ld re ­
st rain ts that were use d to ce rtify you r ve hicl e's
com pliance with t he U.S . Safety Sta ndar d
¢page 297 .
-will go out if the front pas senge r seat is occu ­
p ied by an adult as reg istere d by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht must come
o n an d stay on if the ignition is on and ...
- a ca r bed has been insta lled on t he fron t pas ­
senger seat, o r
- a rearwar d-faci ng child res train t h as been in ­
sta lled on t he front passe nger seat, or
- a f orwar d-f acing child res trai nt ha s bee n in sta l­
l e d on the front passenge r seat,
- and if the elec trical c apac it a nc e regis tered on
t h e fron t pa ssenger sea t is eq ual t o or le ss than
the comb ined ca pacitan ce of a typica l 1 yea r­
o ld infant a nd one of the rearwar d-fac ing o r
f o rwa rd-facing chi ld restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Sta ndard 208 w ith w hich
the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
I f th e front passenger seat is not occ upied, the
front a irbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay o n. Never install a
rearward -fac ing c hild rest raint on the front pas­
senge r sea t, the safes t place for a child in any
kin d of c hild r estrai nt is a t one of the sea ting po­
si tions on the re ar sea t
¢page 270, Child re-
282
s traints on the front sea t - some important
things to know
and ¢ page 294 , Child safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n one of t he conditions listed above is met,
b e su re to c heck the light regular ly to make cer ­
ta in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
stays on continuously wheneve r the ignition is
o n. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht does
not appea r on and does no t stay on a ll the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignit io n
off for more than 4 seconds and the n tu rni ng it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint. Make
sure that the child restra in t is prope rly insta l­
l e d and tha t th e safe ty belt for the fro nt pas­
senge r sea t has been corre ct ly rou ted t hrough
t he child r estra int as d escribe d in th e child r e­
s tra int manufac tur er's in st ru cti ons ;
- mak e sure th at t he convert ible lo cki ng re trac ­
to r o n the
sa fety belt for t he fro nt passe nge r
seat h as been a ctivat ed a nd t hat t he s afety bel t
h as bee n pu lled tigh t.
- mak e sure th at no e lec trical device (s uch as a
lap to p, C D playe r, e lectro nic games dev ice,
power inverte r o r seat heater fo r chi ld seats) is
placed o r used o n the fro nt passen ger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-vo lt soc ket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat hea ter has bee n ret ro ­
fitted o r othe rw ise ad ded to t he front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that not hing can inte rfere with t he
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
st ructed;
- make sure that t here are no wet o bjects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or ot her liquids on
the front passenge r seat c ushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on . ..
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come o n an d does not stay o n continuously
(whe n the ign ition is sw itched on) ,
.,.

u. 00 .-< N l'­ N .-< 0 N > 00
-take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install it properly at one of the rear
seat positions. Have the a irbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately .
-move the child to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is proper ly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light shou ld NOT
come on whe n the ignition is on and an adult is
sitting in a proper seating position on the front passenger seat . If the
P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
S seconds while d rivi ng, under these c ir c umstan­
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 aga inst the bac krest and the
back rest is not recl ined,
-the ad u Lt is not ta king weig ht off t he seat by
hold ing on to the passenger
assist handle
above t he fron t passenger door o r su pporting
their weight on the armrest,
-the safety be lt is be ing properly wo rn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the sa fety be lt web ­
bing,
-there are no aftermar ket seat covers or c ush ­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca ­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal ­
cu late electrical capac itance.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
.&_ WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light blinks for
about S seconds to catch the driver's atten­
t ion. If th is happens, a lways stop as soon as
it is safe to do so and check the steps descri­
bed above.
-
Airbag syste m
- 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 adu lt is properly seated and
rest rained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions. Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re t rans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat .
.&_ WARNING
= -
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental protection in a fronta l crash .
-If the ai rbag ind icator light ~page 26
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 w ill not inflate when it should.
.&_ WARNING
--If the front a irbag inflates, a ch ild witho ut a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re­
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be serious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even though you r vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children, espec ially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop­
erly restrained for their age and size.
-Always install fo rwa rd or rea r-f acing child
seats on the rear seat -even w ith an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
-If you must install a rearward-facing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional circumstances an d the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and
stay on, immed iate ly install the rea r-facing
child seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deale r.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r seat, always move the
283

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occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy.
Fully inflated airbags in combination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant's forward movement and help to reduce
the risk of injury.
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
A ppl ies to: ve hicles with knee a ir b ags
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
wear safety belts correctly and ride in a proper
seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers must
know and do to help the safety belts and airbags
to provide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious in­
jury . Wearing safety belts incorrectly and im­
proper seating posit ions increase the r isk of
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
properly if you are seated too close to any of
the airbag locations. When adjusting their
seat positions, it is important that both the
driver and the front passenger keep their
upper bodies and knees at the following
minimum safe distances :
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if you
lean forward or to the side, or if the seat is
improperly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the airbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be­
tween you and the airbag can increase the risk of injury in an accident by interfering
-
Airbag system
with the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into you as the airbag deploys.
- Never let anybody, especially children or
animals ride in the footwell in front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious or fatal injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foot­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat . Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can interfere with or
prevent proper deployment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch­
es or other damage in the area of the instru­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated.
- If children are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a collision
<=> page 294, Child safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig. 242 Side airbag loc atio n in the driver's se at
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
<=> fig . 242 and the rear back­
rest* facing the doors.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, particularly when
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop­
erly . The side airbag for the front passenger seat
.,.
287

Airbag syste m
can be used with properly insta lled child re­
straints. Please be sure to read the important in ­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a veh icle: Safety belts
c> page 260,
Airbag system c> page 269, Ch ild safety
c> page294 .
The s ide ai rb ag sy stem basic ally con sists of:
- the e lectron ic co ntrol mod ule and externa l side
impact sensors
- th e two airbags loca ted in t he sides of t he front
backrests and the two airbags* located in the
rear back rest
- th e a irbag wa rn ing light in the inst rument cl us-
ter.
The a irbag system is monito red elect ronically to
make certa in that it is funct ioning prope rly at all
t imes. Ea ch time you sw itch on the ign ition, the
airbag system indicato r light will come on for a
few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The s ide a irba g system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the dr iver's, front and rear* passenger 's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle t hat is struck in a
side co llision . The airbag dep loys only in side im ­
pacts and on ly when the ve hicle acceleration reg­
is tered by the control unit is h igh enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in ­
to the control un it, the s ide a irbags w ill not be
tr iggered , even thoug h the ca r may be bad ly
damaged as a result of the collision. It is not pos­
sib le to define an a irbag tr igger ing range that
will cover every possib le ang le of impact , since
the circumstances wi ll vary considerably between
one co llision and another. Important factors in ­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed , etc.
c> page 289, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
be lts work to help keep the driver or front p as­
senger in pos it ion in the event of a s ide collision
so that the side a irbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint sys tem in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the s ide airbag system can only
288
help to protect you if you are wear ing you r safety
belt and wearing it properly. This is another rea ­
son why you should a lways wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so c> page 260, General no tes.
It is important to remember that w hile the sup­
plementa l side airbag system is designed to re ­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other in ju­
ries, for example, swelling, bru is ing, friction
burns and m inor abras ions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags . Remember too, s ide
a irbags w ill dep loy only once and only in certa in
ki nds of acc idents
-you r safety belts are a lways
t h ere to offer p rotect ion.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessar ily an ind ication
of over-se nsit ive or fa iled a irbag act ivat ion. In
some coll is ions, bo th front and side airbags may
i nflate. Remember too, tha t airbags w ill dep loy
on ly once and on ly in certain kinds of collisions
-
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec ­
tion in those accidents in which ai rbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will n ot deplo y:
-when t he ignition is switched off
- in side co llisions when the a ccelera tion meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in fro nt-end coll is io ns
- in rea r-end co llisions
- in rollovers .
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curtain airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protect ion when occupants are i n
the prope r sea ting pos it ion
c> page 289.
- If t he a irbag ind icator light c> page 26
comes w hen the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspe cted immedia tely by your
author ized A udi dealer. It is poss ib le that
the airbag will in flate when i t is not sup ­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should .

LL co .... N
" N .... 0 N > co
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained.
App lies to: vehicles wi thout power to p
Fig . 2 43 Side impac t protection: inflated side a irbags (ex ·
ample)
Applies to: vehicles wit h powe r top
Fig. 244 Side impact protect ion: inf lated side a irbags
When the system is triggered, the airbag is filled
with propellant gas and breaks through a seam in
the seat surface area marked "AIRBAG" . It ex­
pands between the s ide trim pane l and the pas­
senger. In order to help prov ide this add itional
protection, the side airbag must inflate within a
fract ion of a second at very high speed and with
g reat force. The supplemental side airbag cou ld
i njure you if your seating position is not p roper or
upright o r if items a re located in the area where
the supplemen tal side airbag expands . This ap­
plies especially to children
c::> page 294, Child
safety.
Supp lemental side airbags inflate be­
tween the occ upant and the door pane l on the
side of the vehicle that is struck in certa in side
collis ion
c::> fig. 243, c::> fig. 244.
Although they are not a soft pi llow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
Airbag system
help to reduce the risk of injury to the up per pa rt
of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the a irbag deploys.
Th is is no rma l and does not mean the re is a fi re
in the vehicle .
Important safety instructions on the side
airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Always
properly wear safety belts and ride in a proper seating position .
There is a lot that you and yo ur passengers must
know and act according ly to he lp the safety belts
and airbags do their job to provide supplementa l
protection.
..&. WARNING
-
An inflating s ide a irbag can cause serious or
fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety belts and improper seating posit ions increase the
r isk of ser ious perso na l inju ry and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always s it in an upr ight position and never
lean against the area where the supp le­
mental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone e lse rest their
head against the side trim panel in the
area where the supplementa l side airbag
inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are
worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front seat put their hand or any other parts of their
body out of the window .
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate w ithout interference.
- Never install seat covers or repla ceme nt
u pholste ry ove r the front seatbacks that
have not been specif ica lly approved by
Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags de-
.
ploy . Ill>
289