child seat AUDI S4 2017 Owner's Manual

Airbag system
-Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o 'clock and 3 :00 o'clock po­
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in ­
jury if the driver's airbag inflates .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any­
where inside the steering wheel or on the steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de­
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind­
shield; never place them over or near or at­
tach them to the area marked ,.AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in­
jury in a collision, especially when the air­ bags inflate .
258
-Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud­
den maneuver . Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com­
partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in­
flate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe­
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be­ ing 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 un­
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the .,low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S . Fed­
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac­
itance greater than the combined capaci­
tance of a typical one-year old infant re­
strained in one of the forward facing or rear­
ward-facing child seats with which your ve­
hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 , as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety ..,.

Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your 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 ..,.

switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 265. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take care to prevent it from being damaged .
Damage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Airbag System for the front passenger seat from
doing its job in a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag Sy stem con sist s
of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measu re vehicle accelerat ion/ decelerat ion to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic cont rol unit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . The contro l unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
should be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the driver ins ide the steer ing
wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument panel for
the front passenger.
- A capac itive passenger detect ion system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capac itance of the
person in the seat . The information registered
i s sent conti nuously to the electron ic cont rol
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenge r side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght
mi n the instrument cluster.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
stee ring wheel or instrument panel. The info r­
mation reg istered is sent contin uous ly to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- T he
PASSE NGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
; comes on in the headliner
c:> page 265,
~ fig. 222 and te lls you the status of the Ad-
8 vanced Airbag on the passenger side. 0
3 Airb ag sys tem
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic control un it.
A WARNING ,.__
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working properly .
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from funct ion ing
p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
pe rformed by qualified and properly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passe nger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacit ive pas­
senger detect ion mat in the front passenger
seat will not function p roperly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenge r seat. Such ob ­
jects ca n infl uence the capacitance reg is­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items unde r the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam­
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never p lace seat covers or replacement up­
holstery that have not been specifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced A ir­
bag System from recognizing child re­
stra ints or occupants on the front passenger
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from deploying properly .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth- erwise added to the front passenger seat ,
~
261

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 system
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child 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 child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­ cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;, light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer ­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use .
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat . Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuvers and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself . These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
264
the area of the side airbag or the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined .
- Never place or transport objects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the front
passenger seat could cause the capacitive
sensor in the seat to signal to airbag system
that the seat is occupied by a person when it
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have
worked without objects on the seat .
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way that is different from the way it would have
worked without the object on the seat .
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing problems for people with a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- To reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy , wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eating.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches. ..,_

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