child restraint AUDI S4 2017 User Guide

<( a, .... N ,....
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about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 2 77.
E ven though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil­
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al­
ways 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
a n infant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica­
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de­
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON
@ light will come on
for a few seconds and:
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the e lectrica l capacitance measured by the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equa ls the comb ined ca­
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward ­
facing child restra ints listed i n Federa l Moto r
Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System i n your veh i­
cl e was certified . Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to ce rtify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 279 .
Airb ag sys tem
-PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
there is a small chi ld or child restraint on the
front passenger seat
- PASSENGER AIR BAG ON@ will come on if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an ad ult as
registered by the capacit ive passenger detec­
tion system
¢ page 265, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
when e lectrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in­
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward ­
facing child restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Ve­
hicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with wh ich
the Advan ced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total electr ical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is mo re than that of a
typ ical 1 year -old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sm all adult, the front air bag on the passen­
ger 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 p assenger
s ide has not been turned off by the electronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor­
ed in its memory .
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
-a small c hild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger se at
(regardless o f whethe r the child is in one o f the
child sa fe ty seats listed
¢ page 2 79), o r
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
t he front passenge r seat .
If the front passenge r airbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on i n
t h e headliner a nd stays o n.
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requi res the airbag to meet the "low
r isk " dep loymen t criteria to redu ce the r isk of in­
j u ry through interaction w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deployment oc curs in those crashes that
take place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
Ill>
255

Airbag syste m
the electronic control unit¢ page 265, PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF~; ON@ light.
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carrier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapid ly inflat­
ing passenger's airbag in a fronta l co llision. The
airbag cou ld greatly reduce the effect iveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for ch ildren -when properly restra in­
ed according to the ir age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢
page 2 77, Child safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the fron t
airbag infla tes -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear -facing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on and stay on, immed iately install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and ca use serio us pe rsonal injury to the child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must i n­
stall a forward -facing chi ld res train t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Alw ays make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and ce rt ified by its man-
256
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the 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-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the child rest raint
so th at the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ign it ion is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
will be disp layed whenever a ch ild restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not stay on, perform the checks descri­
bed ¢
page 265, Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System.
- Take the child restra int off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER 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 instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal­
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional ci rcumstances, you must in­
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re-
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat: ..,.

-Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effect iveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection .
- An improper ly installed ch ild restraint can
interfere w ith the airbag as it deploys and
seriously injure or even kill the child -even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
- Always carefu lly follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
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 signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l tha t it is occ upied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat. The p resence of addi ­
t ional objects could cause the passenge r
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
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.
F ig. 219 Loca tion of driver airb ag: in stee ring whee l
Airb ag sys tem
Fig. 220 Locat io n of fro nt passen ger 's a irbag : in t he in·
s tr um en t pan el
Your vehicle is equipp ed with an "Advanced Air­
bag System " in compliance with United States
Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your veh icle was manufactured . The
safe ty belts fo r the seats have "pretensione rs "
that help to take slack out of the bel t system.
T he pretensioners are also activated by the e lec ­
tronic control unit for the airbag system .
T he front safety belts also have load limiters to
help reduce the fo rces applied to the body in a
c rash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub
r:::> fig. 219 a nd the airbag fo r the front pas­
senger is in the instrument pane l
~fig. 220. The
general lo cat ion of the airbags is marked "A IR­
BAG".
T he re is a lot yo u need to know about the airbags
i n your vehicle. We urge you to read the deta iled
informa tion abo ut airbags, s afety be lts and c hild
safety in this and the other chapters that make
u p the owner 's literatu re . Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS -they ar e extrem ely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers, especially infants and small child ren.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protect ion .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supp lemental protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
wit h properly worn safety be lts .
257

Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to prov ide additional pro te ction
for the driver's and front passenger 's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes . The airbags in­
flate only in fronta l impacts when the veh icle de­
celerat ion is high enough.
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 jus t because the law req uires yo u to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicle has
been ce rtified to meet the "low risk" requi re­
men ts for 3 and 6 yea r-o ld children o n the pas­
senger side and very sma ll adul ts on the drive r
side . The low r isk dep loymen t cr iteria are inten d­
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter­
action with the front airbag that can occ ur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument pane l when the airbag inf lates .
I n addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly with the "supp ression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn 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
c::> page 2 79, Child restraints and Advanced Air­
bags.
"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 Ai rbag System in your
;;!; vehicle was ce rtified. For a listi ng of the ch ild ....
~ restra ints tha t were used to certify your veh i-
N 8 cl e's compl iance wi th t he US Safe ty St andard
0 3 c::> page 2 79,
Airb ag sys tem
-When a pe rson is detected on the front passen ­
ger seat that has an elect rical capacitance that
is more than the total e lectr ica l capacitance of
a child that is about
1 year o ld restrained in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in you r vehicle was cert ified), t he front
ai rbag on the passenger side may or may no t
dep loy.
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
whe n the elect ronic control unit detects a tota l
elect rical capacitance o n the front passe nger sea t
t h at re quires the front airbag to be turned off. 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 contro l unit and
can deploy if the contro l unit senses an impact
that meets the cond itions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registe red on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ica l 1 year -o ld, but less than the weight of a
small adult, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F
~; light does not come on) .
For e xample , the airbag may deploy if :
-a sm all ch ild that is heav ier than a typica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c::> page 2 79),
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenge r a irb ag is turne d off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light in the head ­
li ner wi ll come on and stay on .
If the front passenge r a ir bag deploys, the Feder ­
al S tand ard requ ires t he a irbag to meet the " low
risk" deployment criteria to he lp red uce the r isk
of i njur y through interaction with the airbag .
" Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes
that take p lace at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic contro l unit.
c> page 265
Alway s remember: Even though yo ur vehicle is
equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest place
f or children is properly restrained on the back ..,.
259

Airbag syste m
seat. Please be sure to read the important infor­
mation in the sections that follow and be sure to
heed all of the WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit­ ting s ideways or out of position 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
r:::;, page 253 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld safety seat
installed on the front passenge r seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed i f the front
airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rearwa rd -facing child re ­
straint has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that deployment is impossible in all con­
ceivable s ituations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest , door,
o r roof .
- Always install rearward -facing ch ild re ­
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
c ome on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
260
A WARNING ,_
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been des igned and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forwa rd-facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenge r seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down ad­
justmen t range and move it back to the
rearmost posit io n in the seat's fo re and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the a ir ­
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for­
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the chi ld rest raint and
not next to o r in front of the c hild restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roper ly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that 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
no t, or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
si tting on the sea t. T he 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 d ifferent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ign it ion is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
System i n it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing , b rackets,
and more. The control uni t moni tors the system
on the front passenge r seat when t he ignit ion is ..,.

Airbag syste m
never insta ll any chi ld restraint system on
this seat .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat .
The add itional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurat ely
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
wor king properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
i f the device is conne cted to the 12 -volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . Such
devices can influence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capac itive 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
ufact urer 's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
prope rly position the ch ild rest raint, make
c ertain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not come on and stay on, immediate ly
insta ll child restra int in a rear seating posi­
t ion and have the airbag system inspected
by your 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 a irbag system from work­
ing properly and may , for instance, deact i­
va te the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;;
light will come on and stay on togethe r wi th
the airbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru­
men t cl uster.
262
- If liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from working properly and cause the passenger fronta l airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a p roperly
installed child res traint system on the seat .
Wet towels or o ther we t things on the se at
cushion can have the same effe ct. If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned o n,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light light
wi ll go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the
front t hree-point safety belts with pretens ione rs
and load lim ite rs and the ad justab le head re­
strain ts to help reduce t he risk of injury in a wide
r ange of accident and c rash s itu ations. Be sure to
read the important info rmation abou t safety and
heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Adva nced A irbag System and
the activa tion of the safe ty belt pretensioners de­
pend on the dece lera tion measured by the crash
senso rs and registered by the electronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel ­
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle o r object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capaci tive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he e lectronic control unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be turned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
the fron t passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year o f age in one o f the chi ld sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem under Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Ai rbag System on the passenger side
has been turned off
Q page 265 . .,,.

Airbag syste m
front seat p assenge r's frontal Advanced Airbag.
Th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light:
-will come o n if the front pa ssenger seat is not
occupied;
- will come on if the e lectr ica l capacitance meas­
u red by the c apac itive passenger detec tion sys ­
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child rest raints listed in Fed­
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Ai rbag System in your veh i­
cle was certif ied; Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle's
compliance with the U .S. Safety Standard
c=> page 279.
- will go out if the front passenger seat is occu­
pied by an adult as reg istered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- T he
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF~; light must
come on and s tay o n if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas­
senger seat, o r
-a rearward-fac ing ch ild restrai nt has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restra int has bee n in stal ­
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the comb ined capac itance of a typical 1 year­
o ld infant and one of the rearward-fac ing o r
fo rward -fa cing chi ld restrain ts lis ted in Federal
Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
certified .
If th e fron t passe nger seat is no t occ upied, the
front ai rbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light wi ll stay on.
Never i nstall a rearward-facing child rest raint on
t he front passenge r sea t, the safes t place for a
chi ld in any k ind of child restraint is at one o f the
seating positions on the rea r seat ¢
page 254,
Child restraints on the front seot -some impor­
tant things to know
and c:> page 2 7 7, Child safe ­
ty .
266
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
com es on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on when one of the condit ions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition
i s on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds and then tur ning it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint. Make
sure that the child restra int is prope rly insta l­
led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senge r sea t has bee n corre ct ly rou ted th rough
t he child restraint as desc ribed in the ch ild re­
straint man ufact urer's inst ruc tions;
- ma ke sure that the convert ible loc king retr ac­
to r on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt has been pulled tight .
- ma ke sure that no e lectrica l device (s uch as a
laptop , CD p layer , e lectronic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for chi ld seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro­
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
struc ted;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light st ill
does not come on and does not stay on cont in u­
ous ly (when the ign ition is switched o n),
- take the child restra int off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
ll-

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 0
3 a,
seat positions. Have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rear seat position and make
sure that the child is properly restrained in a
child restraint that is appropriate for its size
and age.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light
s h ould NOT com e on ...
The PASS ENGER AI R BAG OFF ~ ; light should
NO T come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is sitting in a proper seating position on the
front passenger seat . If the
PASS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on while
driving, under these circumstances, make sure
that :
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or he r back up aga inst the backrest and the
back rest is not reclined,
- the adult is not tak ing weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above t he front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the a.rm rest,
- the safety belt is be ing properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
bing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush ­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that migh t ca use the ca­
pacitive passenger detection system to miscal­
cu late electrical capacitance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Adv a need A irbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; ON @ light
blinks for about 5 seconds to catch the driv­
er's attention .
If this happens, always stop
as soon as it is safe to do so and check the
steps described above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is s itting on the front passenger
-
Airb ag sys tem
seat after taking the steps described above,
make sure the adu lt is properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating posi­
tions . Have the a irbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer before trans­
port ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
A WARNING
f-
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop-
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental protect io n
i n a front al crash.
- I f the ai rbag ind icator light~
page 33
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immedia tely by your
authorized Audi dealer . It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a ch ild without a
chi ld restraint, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-fac ing child re­
stra int that has not been properly insta lled
will be seriously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced A irbag System, make certain
that all children , espec ially 12 years and
younge r, always ride on the back seat p rop­
erly rest rained for the ir age and s ize .
- Always install fo rwa rd or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat - even with an
Advan ced Airbag System.
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional circums tances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;, light does not
appear and stay on, immediate ly install the
rear-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seat ing
position and have the a irbag system in­
spected by your authori zed Aud i dea ler.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft ad justment range, as far away
from the a irbag as poss ible . The back rest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position .
267

All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed . The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and it is important for
occupant safety that nothing should be in their
way when they deploy .
Fully inflated airbags in comb ination with proper­
ly worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc­
cupant 's forward movement and help to reduce
the r isk of injury .
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
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 be lts and airbags
to provide s upplemental protection .
,& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause ser ious in­
jury. Wearing safety bel ts incor rectly and im­
proper seating posit ions increase the r isk o f
serious personal injury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
- The knee airbag system cannot protect you
prope rly if you are seated too close to any of
the a irbag locat ions. When ad justing their
seat positions, it is important that both the
dr iver and the front passenger keep their
upper bod ies a nd knees at the following
min imum safe d istances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and the steering wheel/instrument
panel.
- at least 4 inc hes (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
improper ly positioned and you are not wear­
ing your safety belt. The risk increases even
more should the a irbag deploy.
- Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be-
Airbag sys tem
tween you and the airbag can increase the
risk of injury in an accident by interfering
wit h the way the airbag deploys or by being
pushed into yo u as the a irbag deploys.
- Never let anybo dy, especi ally children or
anima ls r ide in the footwell i n front of the
passenger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in serious o r fatal in juries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the foo t­
well area in front of the driver's or pas­
senger's seat . Bulky objects (shopp ing
bags, for example) can interfere with or
prevent proper dep loyment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown th rough t he
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
o r your passengers.
- Make sure the re a re no cracks, deep scratch­
es o r othe r damage in the area of the inst ru­
ment panel where the knee airbags a re lo­
ca ted.
- If ch ildren are incorrectly seated, their risk
of injury inc reases in a coll is ion
~ page 2 7 7, Child safe ty.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
Fi g. 22 5 Side a irbag locat ion in the drive r's sea t
The side airbags are located in the s ides of the
front seat backrests~
fig. 225 and the rear back­
res t* facing the doo rs.
The side airbags installed for the front seating
pos itions have been des igned and certified to
help reduce the risk of in ju ry that can be caused
by a irbags when they inflate, pa rticul arly when .,.
271

Airbag system
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop­
erly. The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly installed child re­
straints. Please be sure to read the important in­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a vehicle: Safety belts
Qpage 245,
Airbag system Q page 253, Child safety
c::;, page 2 7 7.
The side airbag system basically consists of:
-the e lectronic control modu le and externa l side
impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- two rear side airbags*
- the airbag warning light in the inst rument clus -
ter.
The airbag system is monitored electronically to make certa in that it is functioning properly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ign it ion, the air­
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics).
The side airbag system supplements the safety
be lts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's, front and rear* passenger's upper
torso on the side of the vehicle that is struck in a
side co llision. The a irbag dep loys only in side im­
pacts and on ly when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is high enough . If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control un it, the side airbags w ill not be
tr iggered, even though the car may be badly
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 possible angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another . Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
Q page 2 73, 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 pas­
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 overall occu-
272
pant res traint system in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your 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 245, General information .
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental side airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bru is ing, friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be assoc iated
with deployed side airbags. Remember too, side
a irbags w ill dep loy only once and only in certa in
kinds of accidents -your safety belts are always
there to
offer protection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even the lack of
vehicle damage are not necessarily an ind icat ion
of over-sens itive or fa iled airbag activation. In
some collisions, both front and side airbags may
inflate. Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy
on ly once and only in certain kinds of collisions -
your safety be lts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those accidents in which airbags are not
supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when the ignition is turned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration meas -
ured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end collisions
- in rea r-end collisions
- in rollovers.
In some types of accidents the front airbags, side
curta in airbags and side a irbags may be triggered
together .
&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system will only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position
Q page 2 7 3.
- If the airbag indicato r light Q page 33
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that