instrument panel AUDI S4 2015 User Guide

146 Airbag system
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all chi ldren, 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 ch ild 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 with the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a child 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 which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=v page 167.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic 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,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 154, 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.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
chi ld 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 airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the control 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 ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( re gard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
r=v page 167), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild 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 s ide 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 sitt ing upright with their back against a
non-reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 12 7, 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 t hroug h interaction with the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 155, 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 inflat ing passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The air bag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation .

148 Airbag system
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 153 L ocation of driver airbag: in steer ing wheel
Fig. 154 Locatio n of fro nt passenger's airbag: in the in ­
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help
to take slack out of the belt system. The pre­
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel hub
¢ fig. 153 and the airbag for the front
passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 154 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
c h apters 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 in­
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protect ion.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
h icle is properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
-A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es-
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
ble situat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
p loyment are met .

-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe­
cially 12 years and younger, sho uld al­
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
A irbag System in compliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd
208 as applicab le a t the time your vehicle was
manufac tured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supple­ ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
p rotection fo r the driver's and fron t passeng­
e r' s heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece leration is high enough .
The fron t Advanced A irbag Sys tem for the
front seat occ upants is no t a substi tute for
your safety bel ts. Rather, it is part of the over ­
a ll occupa nt restraint system in your vehicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up­
right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is w hy you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restrai ned, not just
because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low r isk" re ­
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low ris k dep loymen t cr ite­
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of i n­
j ury thro ugh in teraction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, fo r example, by being too
close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the sys tem has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restra ined on the front passenger
A irbag system 149
seat in child rest raints that are listed in the
Standard
~ page 167, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Supp ress ion" requires the fron t airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if :
- a child up to about one year of age is re­
s trained on t he front passenger sea t in one
o f the rear -fac ing or fo rward -facing infan t
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. For a listing of t he chi ld restraints
that were used to certify your veh icle's com­
plia nce w ith the US Safety Standard
~ page 167,
-weight less than a thres hold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas ­
senge r seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas­
senger seat, weighing more than t he total
weight of a chi ld that is about 1 year old re ­
stra ined in one of the rear-fac ing o r fo rward­
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo­
tor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd 208 w it h whi ch
t h e A dvan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen­
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the ele ct ro ni c cont ro l uni t detects a to­
ta l we igh t on the front passenger sea t that re­
quires the front airbag to be t urned off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control un it senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored i n
i ts memory .
If the total weig ht on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old, but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if: I),
•
•

150 Airbag sys te m
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
q page 167),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off , the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front ai rbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small ad ult or teenager is on the front pas­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w it h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re ­
duce the risk of injury through interact ion
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it .
q page 154
Al way s remember: Even tho ugh your 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 impor­
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
q page 144.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad­
van ced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n
off the
front airbag when a rea rward-facing
chi ld res traint has been instal le d on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso ­
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im­
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and chi ld aga inst the backrest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im­
mediately inst all the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll 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 s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before installing

"' N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
th e forward-facing child res traint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AI R BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing ma t, sensors, wiring, brack­
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control unit when the ignition is on .
The control unit monitors the Advanced Air­ bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
airbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains impo rtant parts of the Ad­
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
p revent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The front Advanc ed Airbag Syst em
con sis ts o f th e following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
-An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
r eceived from the c rash sensors. The control
unit a lso "dec ides" whet her the safety be lt
pretensione rs should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steer­
i ng wheel hub.
A irbag system 15 1
- An Advanced Ai rbag with gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu­
ously to the electronic control unit to regu­
late deployment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and ind icator
light in the i nstr ument cluster ~
page 154 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l or inst rument panel. The i n­
formation register ed is sent cont inuous ly to
the ele ct ron ic cont ro l uni t to regulate de­
ployment o f the front Advanced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center o f th e instr u­
ment panel
~page 155, fig. 156 and tells
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been turned off .
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
on the safety be lt . T he tension o n the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not~
page 145, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch fo r the driv­
er and fo r the front sea t passe nger that
senses w hethe r that s afety belt is latched or
no t 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.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning p roperly .
-
•
•

156 Airbag system
make certain that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuous 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 turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint.
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly
routed around the child restraint as descri­
bed in the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions;
- make sure that the convertible locking re­
tractor on the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been act ivated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety be lt latch
on the seat can do its job
c::> page 175 .
-make su re that things that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not blocked. Shake the safety belt
latch 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
causes the we ight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on
and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the chi ld restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the a irbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dealer
immediately .
- move the ch ild to a rear seat pos it io n and
make sure that the child is properly restrain­
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
it s size and age. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds wh ile driving, un­
der these cir cumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is properly seated on the center of the seat
cushion with his or her back up aga inst the
backrest and the backrest is not recl ined
c::> page 12 7, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support­
ing their weight on the armrest,
- t he safety belt is being properly worn and
t hat there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accesso ry seat covers or cushions or other
t hings that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
t h e message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON wi ll briefly appear
in the instrument cluster disp lay. This is to in­
form the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
c::> page 20
comes when the veh icle is being used,
have the system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer .
It is
-

'"" N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
possible 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 ch ild without
a child restra int, in a rearward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re­
st raint that has not been properly insta lled
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped
with an Advanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll children, especially 12
ye ars and younge r, a lways ride on the
back seat properly restrained fo r their
age and size.
- Always instal l forw ard or rea r-facing
child safety seats on the rear seat -even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you mus t install a rearward -facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not appear and stay on, imme ­
diately install the rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by you r au­
tho riz ed Aud i dea le r.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
wa rd-fac ing child restra int attached to
t h e fro nt passenger sea t can put too
much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register mo re weight
than is ac tually on the seat. The heavier
weight registe red can make the system
wor k as though an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward -facing child re ­
st rain t on the front passenger seat, a l­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sit ion in the seat's fo re and aft adjust­
ment r ange, as far away from the airb ag
as possib le. The backrest m ust be adjus t­
ed to an upr ight position. Make sure that
A irbag system 157
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 tak ing
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated and restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer befo re trans­
port ing anyone on the front pas senger
seat.
@ Tips
If t he weig ht-sensing mat in the front pas ­
senger seat detects an empty sea t, the
front airbag on the p assenger side will be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
will stay on .
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at
many different p laces on your Aud i. Insta lling,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part of an
a irbag system and p revent that system from
working p rope rly in a coll is ion.
There are some important t hings you have to
k n ow to make sure that the effectiveness of
t h e system w ill not be impaired and that d is­
ca rded components do not cause inju ry o r pol­
l ute the environment.
A WARNING
Im proper care, serv icing and rep air proce­
d ur es can increase the risk of personal in ­
ju ry and death by preventing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or deploying
an a irbag unexpectedly:
- Never cover, obst ruct, or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or airbag cover
or the instrument panel or mod ify them
in any way. •
•

158 Airbag system
-Never attach any objects such as cu­
pholders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
moistened with plain water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the airbag system .
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or electrical sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technician who has the training
and special equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
authorized Audi dealer or qualified work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an authorized Audi
dealer or qualified technician who has
the technical information, training and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only once. After an airbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced with new replace -ment parts designed and approved espe­
cially for your Audi model version . Re­
placement of complete airbag systems
or airbag components must be per­
formed by qualified workshops only. Make sure that any airbag service action
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- In accidents when an airbag is deployed,
the vehicle battery separates the alterna­
tor and the starter from the vehicle elec­
trical system for safety reasons with a pyrotechnic circuit interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circuit inter­ rupter must only be performed by a
qualified dealer -risk of an accident!
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter
is scrapped, all applicable safety pre­
cautions must be followed.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten ­
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per­
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap­
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem performs in a crash. For example, using
tire-rim combinations not approved by Audi, lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, including the springs, suspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the electronic control
unit. Some suspension changes can, for

166 Child Safety
-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.
(D 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 . 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 .,.

190 Intelligent technology
overheat re ducin g the effectiveness of
the ent ire brake system.
- Failure of one brake circuit will impair
the braking capability resulting in an in­
creased stopp ing distance. Avoid driv ing
the vehicle and have it towed to the near­ est author ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop .
- Never let the vehicle ro ll to a stop w ith
the engine shut off.
- If the brake booster is not working, the
brake pedal must be pressed conside ra­
bly harder to make up for the lac k of
booster assistance.
Electro-mechanical
power assist, dynamic
steering
The electro-mechanical power assist helps
the driver when steering.
Power stee ring adapts electronically based on
the vehicle speed.
Indicator lights and messages
• Steering defective! Do not drive vehicle!
If this ind icator lig ht tu rns on and stays on
an d th is message appears, t he power steer ing
may have f ailed.
D o
not cont in ue d riving. See yo ur autho rized
Aud i deale r or a q ua lifi ed r epa ir facility for as­
sistance.
'1:I Dynamic steering : System fault! You can
cont inue driv ing
If the indicator light t urns on and the mes­
sage appears, the steer ing may be more diffi­
cul t to move or more se nsitive than usual. The
steer ing wheel may also be at an angle whe n
d riving straight .
Drive s low ly to your author ized Audi dealer or
q ua lified workshop to have the malfunction
cor rected .
'y.ij Dynamic steering: initializing
If this driver message appears and the indica ­
tor light is f lashing on the instrument panel,
dynam ic steer ing * is being re in it ia lized. After
starting the engine, the steering wheel will move s light ly. Re- initialization might be nec­
essary if the steering wheel was moved hard
to the left and right wh ile the vehicle was not
moving . Th e display goes out as soon as ini ti­
ali za tion is complete.
_& WARNING
Ha ve the dy namic stee ring * system m al­
f u nction repa ired as soon as possib le by an
a uthorized Audi dea ler or qua lified work ­
shop -risk of acc ident !
@ Tips
-If the . or '1:I indic ator li ght only s tays
on fo r a shor t time, you m ay continue
dr iving.
- T he dynamic s teering * stabi lit y syste ms
are no t av ail ab le in the even t of a system
ma lf u nction.
- F or ad di tion al information on dynamic
steering *, refe r to
¢page 115 .
-
Driving with your
quattro
App lies to vehicles: wi th all-w hee l drive
With a/I-wheel drive, all four wheels are driv­
en .
General information
With a ll-wheel d rive, power is distr ib uted to
all four wheels. This happens automatically
depending on your driving style and the road
co ndit ions at the time . See also
¢ page 185.
A center d ifferential distributes the driving
power variably to the front and rear axle. It
wor ks together with selective w heel torque
co ntrol, wh ich activates when dr iving t hrough
c ur ves
c::;,page 186. With the sport differe n­
t ia l* , pow er d istr ibut ion to the rea r wheels is
variable a nd can be adjusted w ith drive se lect
c::;, page 115. .,..