ignition AUDI S4 2013 Workshop Manual

Programming the transmitter (version
B)
Applies to vehicles: with Horne link
Fig. 1 38 D istance between t he rad ia tor grill e and t he
hand transmitte r
Programming: phase 1 on the control unit
1. Sw itch on the ig nit io n (d o n ot start the
e ngine ).
2. P ress and hold bot h of the outer Home­
Link buttons
r=> page 123, fig. 136 unt il
the LED @ turns off completely (about
20
seconds). Th is procedure clears the stand­
ard codes that were set at the factory and
does
not need to be repeated agai n to
p rog ram th e othe r buttons.
3. Briefly press the Homelink button that
you would like to prog ram .
4 . Wai t until the LED@ beg ins to blink
q ui ckly. The Home Lin k modu le wi ll now
remai n in learning mode for
5 minutes .
5. Now stand in front of your vehicle with
the original hand transmitter for the ga­ rage door opener o r for the device that
you would like to allocate to the Home­
Link button.
Programming: pha se 2 on the radiator
grille
6 . Hold the o rig inal hand transmitter some­
what towa rds the center o f you r vehicle 's
radiato r gr ille
r=> fig . 138 .
7. Now activate (p ress) t he hand transmit ­
ter.
8 . Pay a ttention to the t urn sign als for yo ur
vehicle when activating the ha nd trans­
mitter . If t he emergency flashers b link
three times, the programming was suc­
cessful. If the emergency flasher only
bli nks one time, the 5 minute t ime limit
Homelink ® 125
for the adaptat ion has expired or the pro ­
gram ming was unsuccessful. Repeat the
programming from step 3 on the controls
o r se lect another distance from the radia­
tor grille.
9. If the garage door or other devices sti ll
fail to be activated w it h the Homelink
control buttons after p rogramming is
comple ted, it is possib le tha t these sys­
tems might be wor king with a roll ing code
ins tead of the normal fixed code .
A Roll­
ing code programming must be per ­
formed
r=> page 126 .
Program the rema ining tw o b uttons a ccord ing
to the instructions mentioned above . Beg in
similar ly w ith the 3rd step if the program ­
m ing connection was successful for t he first
button .
Remote con trol units fo r garage door opene rs
in Canada are set to stop transmitting radio
frequency signa ls after two seconds . This time
may not be suffic ient for the Homelink sys­
tem to learn the radio frequency signa l. Per­
form all other steps as described above.
Erasing the buttons
.,. Switch o n the ignition (do not start the en­
gi ne).
.,. Press and hold both of the outer buttons
until the LED @ turns off completely (about
20 seconds) to erase all of the buttons si­
m ultaneously .
.,. Programmed buttons cannot be erased ind i­
vidua lly. Reprogram the buttons if necessa­
ry .
Reprogramming the buttons
.,. Switch on the ignition (do not start the en­
gine) .
.,. To reprogram an individua l butto n, press
and hold the button unt il the LED @ starts
to f lash quickly (after abo ut ten seconds) .
Release t he bu tton imme dia tely. The Home­
L ink module will now remain in learning
mo de for 5 minutes.
.,. Continue with step 5.

Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all ch ildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a
potentially dangerous place for a child to ride.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply w ith the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front ai rbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Qpage 168.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER 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 there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
Q page 156, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
Airbag system 147
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
c hild but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the contr ol unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
Q page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non-reclined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat~
page 128, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury thro ugh interaction with the
airbag . "Low risk" deployment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
Q page 156, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The airbag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation. •
•

148 Airbag sys tem
For this reason, and because t he bac k seat is
the safest place for children - when prop erly
restra ined according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 166, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he front a irbag inflates - even wit h an Ad­
v a nced Airb ag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you mus t inst all a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
au thorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal ­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfer e wi th the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always m ake su re the forw ard-fa cing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufact urer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re ­
st raint up aga inst or very near the inst ru­
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft ad
justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
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
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed ¢
page 156, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on.
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward or rearwa rd -facing child
r estra int on t he front passenger's seat :
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
p revent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch il d restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as it de­
p loys and seriously injure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advance d Airbag
System.
- Always caref ully follow the m anu factur ­
er 's ins truc tio ns p rov ided with the ch ild
safety sea t or carrier .

152 Airbag sys te m
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before insta lling
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger sea t in your vehicle h as a
lot of very important par ts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include t he
weight -sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ignit ion is on.
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected. The func tion of the
a ir bag ind icator light is described in greater
detai l be low . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System abou t the seve rity of the crash.
- An electron ic co ntrol unit, with integ rated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit "dec ides " w het her to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whethe r the safety be lt
pretensioners should be activated . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve for the d river inside the steer­
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced A irbag with gas ge nerator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the up ho lstery
pad ding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion registered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic contro l unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­ bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitor ing system and i ndicator
light in the i nstr ument cluster ~
page 156 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat a nd the
steer ing whee l o r i ns trument panel. The i n­
formation registered is sent cont inuously to
t he ele ctr onic cont ro l uni t to regula te de­
p loyment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f the instr u­
ment panel
~ page 156, fig . 156 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not ~
page 146, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w het he r th at safety bel t is latched or
not and transmi ts this information to the
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-

154 Airbag system
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to te ll
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off
c> page 146, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when a n airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
c>page 145.
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 155 Inflated front airbags
-,.._
::: :i:.
"' a)
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos ition
so that airbags can unfo ld properly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a frontal co l­
lision.
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect ion for the chest and face of
the driver and the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so that the
occupant is proper ly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints 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 cou
ld become dan ­
gerous projecti les, and be pushed into you if
the a irbag inflates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
T his is norma l and is not caused by a fi re in
the vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It could irritate skin .
It is important to remembe r that while the
supplementa l airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injur ies, other
injur ies, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate . A irbags do not protect the arms
o r the lower parts of the body. Front a irbags
only supp lement the three point safety belts
in some fronta l co llisions in wh ich the vehicle
deceleration is high enough to deploy the air­
bags .
Front a irbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off whe n a c rash
occurs,
- in side collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit.
The front pa ssenge r airbag will al so not
deplo y:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem indicates that the front a irbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER A IR
BAG OFF
l ight comes on and stays on).
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong pos ition can increase
the r is k of se rious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury w he n the air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passengers

156 Airbag system
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
P AS SEN ­
GER AIR B AG
OFF light.
The Advanced Airbag System (including the
electronic control unit, sensor circuits and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignit ion is on. Each t ime you
turn on the ignition, the
rl airbag monitoring
indicator light w ill come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics) .
The system mu st be inspected when the
(I indicator light :
-does not come on when the ignit ion is
switched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignition, or
- comes on wh ile d riving .
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light will first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
continuously to se rve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately .
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
a irbag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG
OFF light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not func tioning
properly cannot provide supplemen tal pro­
tect ion in a frontal crash .
-If the airbag indica tor light¢ page 20
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have the system inspected immediate ly
by you r aut horized Aud i dea le r. It is pos­
sible that the a irbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or w ill not inflate
when it should.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight
F ig. 156 Sect io n fro m the instrument panel: PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF lig ht
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instrument pane l
¢fig. 156.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll come
o n and stay on to tell you w hen the front Ad­
vanced Airbag o n the passenge r side has been
tu rned off by the electronic contro l unit. Each
t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wil l stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
-w il l go out if t he front passenge r seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight mu st
com e on and sta y o n
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been installed on the front passenger seat, o r
- a forward-fac ing ch ild restra int has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the weight reg istered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
b ined weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infant restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Veh icle Safety Standard 208 wi th which the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle was
cert ified.
II>-

If the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OF F
light will stay on. Nev­
er in sta ll a rearward-fac ing ch ild restra int on
t he fron t passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at one
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 146, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
¢ page 166, Child Safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light c om es
on
when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
O FF
ligh t stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so
and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off and then t urning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the chi ld restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
insta lled and that the sa fety be lt for the
front passenger seat has been correct ly
routed around the child restraint a s desc ri­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer 's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen ­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight . The belt
mus t not be loose o r have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
¢ page 176 .
-make su re that th ings that may increase the
weight of t he ch ild and child safe ty seat are
not being transported on the front passen ­
ger seat ;
- make su re that the safety bel t tension sen ­
sor is not b locked . Shake t he safety belt
l atch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure that it is not so tight that it
A irbag system 157
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
doe s not come on
and does not stay on con ­
tin uous ly (when the ignition is switched on) ,
- take the child rest ra int off the front passen-
ge r seat and ins tall it properly a t one of the
rear seat positions. Have the airbag system
inspected by yo ur authorized Audi dealer
immediate ly .
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure t hat the c hild is properly restrain­
ed in a c hild restra int that is app ropriate for
its size and age.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light sho uld
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
ligh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these c ircumstances , make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion wi th his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
¢ page 128, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passe nger door or support ­
ing their weight on the armrest ,
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
t ha t there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing ,
- ac cesso ry seat covers or cushions o r other
t hings tha t may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the we ight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a sa fety belt exten der has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In add it ion to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght in the cente r of the instrumen t panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear ll-
•
•

158 Airbag system
in the instrument cluster display. This is to in­
form the driver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light¢
page 20
comes when the vehicle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authori zed Audi dealer. It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it
is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should .
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
will be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that all children, especially 12
years and younger, always ride on the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme­
diately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your au­
thorized Audi dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-facing child restraint attached to
the front passenger seat can put too
much pressure on the weight-sensing
-
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible. The backrest must be adjust­
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
-
-
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult 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 positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer before trans­
porting anyone on the front passenger
seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenger side will be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Par ts o f the airb ag system are ins talled at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servicing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a collision. .,..

164 Airbag system
in a side collision. The side curtain airbag in­
f lates in side impacts and on ly when the vehi­
cle acce lerat ion reg istered by the contro l unit
is high enough. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
though the car may be badly damaged as a re­
sult of the collision .
It is not possible to de­
fine an a irbag tr igger ing range that will cover
every possible angle of impact , since the c ir­
cumstances w ill vary considerably between
one co llision and another . Important factors
include, for examp le, the nat ure (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the ang le of impact,
vehicle speed, etc.
c:> page 164, How side cur­
tain airbags work.
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a co lli­
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro­
vide p rotection .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety be lt and wear ing it prope rly . T his
i s ano ther reason why you shou ld always wear
your safety be lts, not jus t beca use the law re­
qu ires you to do soc;,
page 13 7, General
notes.
It
is important to remember that while the
side curtain a irbag sys tem is designed to he lp
reduce the like lihood o f serious injuries, other
inj uries, for example, swelling, bruising, and
minor abrasions can also be associated with
these airbags. Remember too, these airbags
will dep loy only once and only in certain k inds
of acc idents - your safety belts are always
there to offer protection .
The side curtain airbag system b asic all y
consists of:
- The electronic control module and externa l
s ide impact sensors
- The side curtai n airbags above the front and
rear side w indows - The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
T he airbag system is mo nitored elec tronically
to make certain i t is func tioning properly at all
times . Each time you turn on the ignition, the
airbag system indicator light will come on for
a few seconds (self diagnostics).
The side curtain airbag is not activated:
- if the ignition is tur ned off,
- in side co llisions whe n the accele ration
measured by the sensor is too low,
- in rear-end col lisions,
- in rollove rs .
A WARNING
-- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide protect ion when occupants
are in the proper seating posi tion
c:> page 58, Seats and s torage .
- If the ai rbag ind icator light c:> page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspecte d immedia tely
by your author ized A udi dealer .
It is pos­
sible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or will not inflate
when it should.
· How side curtain airbags work
Side curtain airbags can work together with
side airbags to help reduce the risk of head
and upper torso injuries for occupants who
are properly restrained.
F ig . 1 60 Illustrat ion of p rin ciple: Inflated si de curtain
a irbags o n the left side
The side c urtain airbags inflate between the
occupant and the windows on the s ide of the
lill>-

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately by your authorized Audi dealer.
,& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install 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 manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
@ Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured .
Child Safety 167
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk" re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition, the system
has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size . The airbag on the pas ­
senger 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 for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the ..,. •
•