warning light AUDI S7 2012 Repair Manual

same effect. If the front passenger
frontal a irbag is turned on, the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the pro tection of­
fe red by the fro nt three -point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adj ustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations. Be sure to read the impor­
tan t information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System
and the act ivation of the safety be lt preten­
sioners depend on the decelerat ion measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control un it . The amount of infla ­
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted
to the front seat position, depending on the d istance between the respe ctive front seat
and the steering whee l or inst rument panel as
registered by sensors in the seats. Crash se­
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object invo lved in the crash .
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger fronta l airbag
will be t urned off if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger detec­
tion system on the front passenge r seat is less
than the amount programmed in the electron­
ic control unit . The front passenger fronta l air ­
bag will a lso be turned off if the capac itance
measured by the system for the front passen­
ger seat eq ua ls tha t of an infant o f abo ut one
year of age in one o f the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag System
under Fede ral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the
front Advanced Airbag System on the passen­ ger s ide has been turned off
c:> page 150 .
Airba g sy stem 14 7
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury w hen an airbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts p ro perly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any
way, your ris k of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in­
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
¢ page 137 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 14 3 In flated front a irbags
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that ai rbags can unfold p roper ly and pro­
v ide s upplementa l pro tect ion in a fron tal col­
lis ion .
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide ad­
di tional protection fo r the chest and fa ce of
the d river a nd the front seat passenger when :
- safety belts are worn properly ,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i­
b le from the airbag ,
- and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
wi th great force, things you have on your lap
or have placed on the seat cou ld become dan ­
gerous p rojecti les, and be pushed in to you if
t h e a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fire in .,,.

148 Airbag sys tem
the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly o f a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate sk in .
I t is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re ­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
in ju ries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air­
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front airbags
supplement the three-poi nt safety belts only
in some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
dece le ra ti on is high enough to deploy the air­
bags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignit io n is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the e lectronic control unit.
Th e front pa ssenger airbag al so will not
d epl oy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu ­
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electron ic control unit
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
<> page 150 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
.&_ WARNING
Sitting in the wrong posi tion can inc rease
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when the air­
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area whe
re
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­
rio us ly injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
<> page 139 .
.&_ WARNING
--A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat wi ll be
se riously in ju red and can be killed if t he
front ai rbag inflates - even w ith an Ad­
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild seat
or infan t ca rrier with grea t for ce and will
smash the child sea t and chi ld against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear -fac ing ch ild seats on
the rear seat.
- If you m ust ins ta ll a rearw ard fac ing
chi ld seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i­
ately insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
= -
Objects between you and the airbag will
i nc rease the r is k of injury in a crash by in­
terfer ing with the way the a irbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed in to you as the airbag
i nflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on o r in t he a rea
of the front p assenger sea t. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front a ir­
bags du ring braking or other sudden ma ­
neuvers and become dangero us projec­
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in-
jury if the a irbags inf late. ..,.

-Never place or attach accessories or o th ­
er objects (such as cup hol ders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or bulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked ''AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those a reas and yourself. These
objects co uld cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate .
- Never recline the front passe nger's seat
to transport objec ts. Items can also
move into the area o f the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver . Objects near the air­
bags can become project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re­
cl ined .
- Never place or transport ob jects on the
front passenger seat. Objects on the
front passenger seat could cause the ca­ pacitive senso r in the seat to s ignal to
airbag system that the seat is occupied
by a person when it in fa ct is not, o r that
the person on the se at is he avier than he
or she actually is. The change in electric
capacitance beca use of such objects can
cause the passenger front airbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be
off, or can
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenge r detection
system in the s eat to s ignal to the A irbag
System that the seat is oc cupied by a
pers on when it is not, or to sign al th at it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the pe rson actually s itting on the
seat . The presence of an object co uld
cause the passenger front a irbag to be
turned on when it sho uld be
off, or co uld
cause the airbag to work in a way that is
different from the way it wou ld have
worked w ithout the object on the seat. A
irbag
sys tem 149
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems fo r people
with a history of as thma or other breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those wi th asthma o r other respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air r ight
away by get ting o ut o f the veh icle or
open ing win dows or do ors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, was h your ha nds and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r be fore eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust in to your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lus h t hem w ith wa te r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
fl~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indi cator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light.
The Advanced A irbag System ( includ ing the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functio ning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
switch on the ignition, the airbag monitor ing
indicator light
rl will come on for a few sec­
onds (self diagnostics).
Th e sy stem must be in spected when the
indicator light
II:
- does not come on when the ignition is
sw itched on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you
have switched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing.
I f an airbag system malfunc tion is detec ted,
the indicator light wi ll first start f lashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
llo-
•
•

150 Airbag system
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
If a malfunction occurs that turns the front
airbag on the passenger side off, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be somet hing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your Audi dealer.
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 144 Sect ion from the instrument pa nel: PASS EN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is Located
in the cen ter of the instr ument panel
~fig. 144.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electronic control unit. If the
bulb for the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light
burns out, the airbag indicator Light
fl will
come on to signal a malfunction in the Ad­
vanced A irbag System . Although the burned­
out bulb will not change the way the front
passenger's frontal airbag works, it w ill no
longer be possible to use the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
Light to make su
re that the airbag
on/off status is correct for the occ upant on
the front passenger seat . Have the airbag sys ­
tem inspected immediately by your author­
ized Audi dealer.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light will blink
for about
5 seconds when:
- the ignition is sw itched on and
- t he capacitive passenger detection system,
whi ch switches the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag on and off, detects
a change in the status of the front passen­
ger seat.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light stops blinking, always make sure that
t h e airbag status (on or off) as shown by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is proper for
the age, size and e lectrical capacitance of the
person occupy ing the front passenger seat.
Always make sure that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat is properly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will
show the status of the front seat passenger's
frontal Advanced Airbag a few seconds after
the ignition is switched on and the airbag in­
dicator light goes off . The PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied;
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de­
tection system for the front passenger seat
equals the combined capacitance of an in­
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearward-facing o r forward-facing child
restraints Listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified; For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com­ pliance w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~page 165.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca­
pacitive passenge r detect ion system.
...

152 Airbag sys te m
cushion wit h his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is n ot reclined,
- the adu lt 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,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or
cushions or other things (such as b lankets)
on the front passenger seat that might
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system to miscalculate electrical capac i­
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Advanced A irbag Sys­
tem has changed wh ile the vehicle is
moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch
the drive r's attent ion.
If this happens, al­
ways s top 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 adu lt who is no t
very small is sitting on the front passen ­
ger seat after taking the steps described
above, make sure the adult is properly
seated and restrained at one of the rear
seating pos itions. Have the a irbag sys­
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transpo rting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
A WARNING , _ -
An airbag system that is not funct io ning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental p ro­
tect ion in a fron tal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that the re may be someth ing
wrong with the Advance d Airbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or will not
in­
f late when it sho uld.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING ~
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
chi ld safety seat, or in a forward-facing
chi ld restrai nt that has not been proper ly
i nstalled w ill be seriously injured and can
be killed.
- Even though you r vehicle is equipped
with an Adva nced A irbag System, make
certain that all childre n, espec ially 12
ye ars and younger, always ride on the
b ack seat properly rest rained for their
age and size .
- Always inst all f orward o r rear-facing
child sea ts on the rear sea t - even with
an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you m ust ins tall a rearw ard-facing
child seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate­ ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
must install a forward-fac ing c hild re­
straint on the front passenger seat , al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­
sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust­
men t range, as far away from t he a irb ag
a s poss ible . The backrest mus t be ad just ­
ed to an upright pos ition . Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when­
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, make su re the ..,.

adult is properly seated and restrained at
one of the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection sys ­
tem determines that the front passenger
seat is empty, the frontal airbag on the
passenger side will be turned off, and the
P ASS ENGER AIR B AG OFF light will stay
on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at
many different places on your Audi. Installing,
removing, servic ing or repairing a part in an
area of the vehicle can damage a part o f an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a co llision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effect iveness of
the system will not be impaired and tha t dis ­
carded components do not cause injury or po l­
l ute the env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an airbag
from deploy ing when needed o r deploying
an airbag unexpected ly:
- Never cover, obstruct, o r change the
steering wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover
o r th e instrument pane l or modify them
in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the airbag units.
- For cleaning the ho rn pad or instrumen t
pane l, use only a soft, d ry cloth or one
mois tened w ith plain wate r. Solven ts or
cleaners co uld damage the airbag cover
or change the stiffness o r strength of the
A irbag sys tem 153
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the a irbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or e lectr ica l sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equ ipment, cellu lar telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we strongly recommend that yo u see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied work­
shop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts
of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the s ide a irbag
can inflate without inte rfe rence:
- Never in.stall seat covers or rep lace­
ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side a irbags
i nflate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or
to the seam in the area of the side a ir­
bag module must a lways be repaired
i mmediately by an author ized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can deploy on ly once.
After an a irbag has been deployed, it
m ust be replaced with new replacement
pa rts des igned and app roved espec ially
for your Aud i mo del ve rsion. Replace­
men t of comple te airbag systems or air­
bag components must be performed by
qualified workshops only . Make sure that
any airbag service action is entered in
your Audi Warranty
& Maintenance book­
let under
AIRBAG REPLACEMENT RE­
CORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the alternator and starter are separated from the veh icle battery with a pyrotech-
nic circuit inte rrupte r. .,.. •
•

154 Airbag system
-Work on the pyrotechnic circu it inter­
rupter must on ly be performed by a
qua lified technicians who have the ex­
perience, information and special tools necessary to perform the work safely .
- If the vehicle or the c ircuit 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
chlora te. When th e vehicle o r parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
a nd safety bel ts w ith p retens ioners are
scrapped, all applicable laws and regula­
tions must be observed. Your authorized
Audi dea ler is familiar wit h these requ ire­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this serv ice for you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
C hanging the vehicle's suspension system can
ch ange the way th at the Advanced A irbag Sys ­
tem pe rforms in a crash. For example, using
tire -rim combinations not app roved by Audi,
lowering the vehicle, changing the stiffness of
the suspension, incl uding the springs, s uspen­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the a irbag
sensors and se nt to the electron ic control
u ni t. Some suspension changes ca n, for exam­
p le, increase th e forc e levels meas ure d by t he
se nsors a nd make the airbag system deploy in
crashes in w hich it would not dep loy if the
cha nges had not been ma de. Ot her kinds of
cha nges may reduce the force levels meas ­
ured by the sensors and prevent the airbag
from deploy ing when it sho uld.
The sen so rs in the safety belt buckle fo r th e
driver an d front passenger seat tell the elec ­
tronic control module if the safety belt is
latched or not. If the safety belt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high- er rate of ve
hicle deceleration than i f the safe ­
ty belt is not being used. Therefore, in a par­
t icu lar coll is ion, it is possible that an airbag
will not deploy at a seat ing pos ition w here the
safety belt is be ing used but will inflate at the
pos ition where t he safety belt is not be ing
u sed. It is important that noth ing interfere
with the safety be lt buckles so that the s en­
sors can send the correct info rmation abou t
sa fe ty belt use to the elec troni c con trol un it .
A WARNING
-Changi ng the vehicle's suspension includ ­
ing use of unapp roved tire -rim combina ­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the r isk o f serious
personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspension components
that do not have the same performance
characterist ics as the components orig i­
na lly installed on your vehicle .
- Never use tire-rim combinations that
have not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
Applies to vehicles : wi th knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental prot ection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fi g. 14 5 Driver"s air bag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath t he steering wheel
Q fig . 145, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan-
el underneat h the glove compartment . ...,

The knee airbag offers additional protect ion
to the driver's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supp lements
the protect ion provided by the safety belts.
I f the front airbags deploy , the knee airbags
also deploy in fronta l collisions when the de ­
p loyment threshold stored in the control unit
is met c>
page 147, More important things to
know about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function,
safety be lts he lp keep the driver or front pas ­
senger in posit ion in a frontal coll is ion so that
the airbags can prov ide supplemental protec­
tion .
The airbag system is not a subst itute for yo ur
safety be lt. Rather, it is part of the overall oc­
cupant restraint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wea ring
your safety belt and wear ing it prope rly . T hi s
i s why you shou ld always wear you r safety
be lt, not just because the law requires yo u to
do soc>
page 128, General notes.
The safety belt buck le for the dr iver and front
seat passenge r have switc hes that tell the a ir­
bag con trol mod ule if the safety belt is be ing
used or not . If the safety belt is being used,
the knee airbag will deploy at a slightly higher rate of deceleration than if the belt is not be ­
ing used. Therefore, in a particu lar collision, it
is poss ible that an airbag will not deploy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position whe re the
safety belt is not be ing used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once
and only in certain kinds of accidents -your
safety belts are always there to offer protec ­
tion in those acc idents in which a irbags a re
not supposed to deploy or when they have a l­
r eady deployed, fo r example whe n your veh i­
cle strikes or is s truck by another afte r the
fi rst coll is ion .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
n ot a substi tute fo r the safety belt. The airbag
sys tem works most effective ly when used with
A irbag system 15 5
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear yo ur
safety belts correct ly .
I t i s important to remembe r that w hile the
s u pplementa l knee airbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of ser ious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swelling, bruising,
minor abrasions and friction b urns can a lso
occur when an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists
of:
- The e lectronic control module
- Two inflatable ai rbags (airbag and gas gen -
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The ai rbag indicator lig ht in the i nstrument
pane l
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignit io n is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measu red by t he con trol un it is too low
- in side co llisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warn-
ing/ind icator light is on)
c> page 17.
A WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide protection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
i=>page 147.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes when
the vehicle is be ing used, have the sys­
tem inspected immediate ly by you r au­
thori zed A udi dealer. The airbag may not
wo rk properly when the vehicle acce le ra­
tion in a side co llision is high enough to
deploy the airbag . See also
i=>page 17.
-
•
•

of the passenger seat. If the airbag de­
p loys, this can resu lt in serious or fata l
injuries.
- Never carry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
p ing bags, for e xample) ca n interfere
with or prevent proper dep loyment of
the airbag . Small objects can be
thrown throug h the vehicle if the ai r­
b ag deploys and injure you o r yo ur pas­
sengers.
- Make su re there are no crac ks, deep
scratches or other damage in the area of
the instrument pane l where the knee air­
bags are located.
- If children are incorrect ly sea ted, their
risk of i njury increases in a collision
¢ page 163, Child Safety .
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants .
Fig . 1 47 Side a irbag loca tion in t he d river 's s eat
The side a irbags a re located i n the sides of the
front seat ba ckrests
¢ fig . 147 a nd the rear
backrest facing the doors . They are identified
bytheword "AIRBAG" .
The s ide a irbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and cer tified to
he lp red uce the risk of i nju ry that can be
caused by airbags when they inflate, particu ­
l arly when the occupant sitting next to it is
not seated proper ly . The side airbag for the
front passenger seat can be used with proper-
A irba g sy stem 15 7
ly installed child restra ints . Please be sure to
read the important informat ion and warnings
whenever using a child restra int in a vehicle:
Safety belts ¢
page 128, Airbag system
c>page 137, Chi ld safety c> page 163.
The side airbag sy stem basically consi st s of:
- t he electro nic cont ro l modu le and external
side impact sensors
- t he two a irbags located in the s ides of the
front backrests and the two a irbags* loc ated
in the rear backrest
- t he airbag warning light in the ins trumen t
cl uste r.
T he airbag system is mon itored e lec tronically
to make ce rtain that it is f unction ing p roperly
at all times. Each time you sw itch o n the igni­
tion, the airbag system ind icator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
T he side airbag system supplements the safe ­
t y bel ts a nd can help to red uce the risk of in­
j u ry to the dr iver's, fron t and re ar passenger's
u pper torso on the side of the veh icle t hat is
str uck in a side collision . The airbag dep loys
only in side impacts and only when the vehicle
acce lerat ion reg istered by the control unit is
high enough. If this rate is below the refer­
ence value programmed into the co ntrol unit,
the side airbags w ill not be triggered, even
though the car may be bad ly damaged as a re­
su lt of the co llision .
It is not possib le to de ­
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, s ince the cir­
cumstances will vary considerably be tween
one collisio n and another . Important factors
include, for example , the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting objec t, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
¢ page 159, Impor tan t
safety instructions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front passenger in position in the event of a side
collision so that the side airbags can provide protection .
The airbag system is
no t a substitute for your
safety belt. Ra ther, it is part of the overall oc-
cupant restra int system in your vehicle .
IIJJ,

158 Airbag system
A lways remember that the side airbag system
can only help to protect you if you are wearing
your safety belt and wear ing it properly. This
is another reason w hy you should always wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do so
Q page 128, General
notes.
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental side a irbag system is designed
to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies,
other inju ries, fo r example, swell ing, b ruising,
frictio n burns and mi nor abrasions can also be
associa ted with deployed side airbags. Re ­
member too, side air bags will deploy only
once and only in certain k inds of accidents -
your safety be lts are always there to offer pro­
tection .
Vehicle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack
of vehicle damage are not necessar ily an indi­
cation of over-sensitive or failed airbag activa­
tion. In some co llisions, both front and side
a irbags may inflate. Remember too, that air­
bags will dep loy only once and only in certain
kinds of collisions -your safety belts are al­
ways there to offer protection in those acci ­
dents in wh ic h air bags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed.
The side airbag syst em will not deploy:
- when the ign ition is switched off
- in s ide collisions when the acceleration
measured by the sensor is too low
- in front-end col lisions
- in rear -end collisions
- in ro llovers.
In some types of acc idents the front airbags,
side curta in a irbags and side airbags may be
tr iggered together.
.&_ WARNING
- Sa fety belts and t he ai rbag sys tem w ill
only prov ide p rotec tion when occ upants
are in t he proper seating posit ion
Qpage 159.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
-
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work proper ly when the vehicle ac­
celeration in a side coll is ion is high
enough to activate the a irbag.
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and can help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who are properly restrained .
Fig. 148 In flated side airbags on left s ide of vehicle,
r ear side a irbag
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat su rface area marked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger. In order to help provide
t hi s addit ional protect ion, the side airbag
mus t inflate with in a fra ction of a second a t
very h igh speed and with great force. The sup­
pleme nta l side airbag could injure you if your
seat ing position is not proper or up right or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plementa l side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
Q page 163, Child Safe­
ty .
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the s ide
of the veh icle that is str uck in certa in side col­
li sion
9 fig. 148 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduc e the risk of inju ry to the upp er
part of the body.
A fine dust may deve lop when the airbag de­
ploys . This is normal and does not mean there
is a fi re in th e vehicle.