instrument panel AUDI S8 2010 User Guide

ffl..,___A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 188,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 77,
- Wear safety belts properly~
page 200,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 231.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force. The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. Therefore in
order to help the airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a driver
and as a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 188, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 77.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 231.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system.
Proper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. If you have a physical impairment or condi­
tion that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat with
the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-800-822-
2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator will fill the airbags,
break open the padded covers, and inflate between the steering
wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel and the front
passenger . The airbags will deflate immediately after deployment so
that the front occupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
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 nothing should be in their way
when they deploy. Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat passenger
from hitting parts of the inside of the vehicle while reducing the
forces acting on the occupant during the crash. In this way they help
to reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash .
Airbags do not protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control unit.
If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the control
unit, the airbags will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage, repair .,,,.

_______________________________________________ A_ ir_ b_ a_,,,g '--- s.:.y _s _t_ e _ m ___ lJ'II
costs o r even t he lack of ve hicle damage is not necessarily an ind ica­
t ion of w heth er an a irba g should inflat e or not.
S ince the c ircumstances will vary considera bly b etwee n one co llision
and another, it is not possi ble to define a range of vehicle spee ds that
w ill c ove r eve ry po ssibl e kind and angle of i mpac t that will alw ay s
trigge r the a irbags. Im portant facto rs include, for examp le, the
n at ure (har d or so ft ) of th e obje ct wh ich t he c ar hi ts, the an gle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . T he front airbags w ill also not inflate in
s ide or rear co ll is io ns, or i n roll-o ve rs.
Always remember: Airbags will deploy only once, a nd only in certain
kinds of coll isions . Yo ur safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec ­
ti on in t hose situ ations i n w hich air bags are not s upposed to deploy,
or w hen they have alrea dy de ploye d; for examp le, w hen your ve hicle
s tr ikes or is st ruc k by ano ther ve hicle after the fi rst co llisio n.
T hi s is just one of the reasons w hy a n airbag is a s upplementary
res tra in t a nd i s no t a su bs titu te for a saf ety bel t. The air bag syste m
works most effective ly whe n used w ith the safety belts . Therefore,
always p rope rly wea r you r sa fety belts ~ page 197 .
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the r isk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm ) to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the
steering wheel, investigate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating
distance from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sideways or
out of po sition in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag .
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly=>
page 201, "Safety belts ".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children r ide unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never r ide with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel=>
page 188.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backre st of your
seat .
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates .
• Never recline the front passenger 's seat to transport objects .
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equ ipment airbags approved by Aud i and
installed by a trained technician who ha s the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and heed the WARNINGS for important details about children and Advanced Airbags =:>
page 231.
Even though your veh icle is eq uipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that all children, especially those
12 years and
younger, a lways r ide in the back seat properly rest rained for the ir age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a
potentially dangerous place fo r a child to r ide. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a child in a forward-facing c hild seat . It can be a
very d angerous pla ce fo r an in fant or a ch ild in a rearwa rd-faci ng sea t.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been cert ified to
comply with the req uirements of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu­
factured .
T he S ta n dard requi res the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off ("suppressed") if a child up to about one year of age
restra ined in o ne of the rea r-facing or forward -fa cing in fant
restra ints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with
w hich the Advanced Airbag System in your ve hicl e was ce rtified has
been installed o n the front passenger seat . For a listing of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify compliance with the US Safety
Standard=>
page 233 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument panel tells you
w hen the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenge r side has been
turned off by the electronic control unit .
Eac h time you t urn on the ign ition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied,
• will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child rest rai nt on the front
passenger seat, •
will go off if the front passenger seat is occup ied by an adult as
registe red by t he weigh t-sens ing ma t:::::>
page 217, "Moni toring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a tota l we igh t on the front passenger seat t hat req uires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total we ight on the front passenge r sea t is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old child but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front ai rbag on the passenger side can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
lig ht does not come on). If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the fro nt airbag on the passenger side has
not been tu rned off by the e lectro nic cont rol u nit and can deploy if
the cont rol unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
Fo r example , the a irbag may deploy if:
• a small child that is heavier than a typical 1 year-old child is on the
front passenge r seat (regard less of whet her the child is in one of the
child seats listed:::::>
page 233), or
• a chi ld who has outgrown ch ild restra ints is o n the front passenger
seat.
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster and stays on.
Th e front a irbag on the passenger side may
not dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not illum inate and stay lit) even
if a small ad ult o r teenage r, or a passenger who is not sitting upright
w it h th e ir back against a non-recli ned backrest w it h their feet on the
veh icle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=>
page 188, "Prope r seat ing pos ition for the dr ive r".
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
t he airbag to meet the " low risk" deployment criteria to red uce the
r isk of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy­
ment occurs in those crashes that ta ke place a t lower decelerations as
defined in the elec tronic control unit:::::>
page 218, "PASS ENGER AIR
BAG O FF light".
liJ,

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Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier insta lled on the front
sea t m ay be s truck and kno cked o ut o f p osition by the rapidl y
inflating passenge r's airbag in a frontal coll is io n. The a irbag cou ld
great ly reduce the effect iveness of the c hild restraint and even seri­
ously i njure the child dur ing inflat io n.
For this reason, and because the back seat is the safest place for chil­
dren -whe n pro perly restra ined a ccording to their age an d siz e -we
strongly recommend that childre n always sit in the back seat
=> page 23 1, "Child S afety".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child 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 seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
• Forward-facing child seats installed on the front passenger 's
seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause
serious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-f acing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Never put the forward -facing child restraint up aga inst or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be ad justed to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of seriou s injury, make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child re straint is installed on the front pas senger seat and the ignition
is switched on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on, perform
the checks described=>
page 217, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restra int off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on .
• Have th e airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi ·
ately.
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu·
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat :
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

-Airbag system --
--=------------------------------
& WARN ING (con tin ue d)
• Imp rope r installati on of child re straint s can reduc e their effec­
ti veness or ev en prevent them from providing any protection .
• An improperl y installed child restr aint can interfere with the
airbag a s it deploy s and seriou sly injure or e ven kill the child -even
with an Ad vanced Airbag System .
• Always c are fully follow the manu facturer 's instructions
provided with the child seat or carrier.
• Nev er place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight regi stered b y the weight-sensing mat and can cause
injury in a crash. •
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection
to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig . 212 L ocation of
dri ver airb ag : in
stee ring wh eel
I
-
Fig. 2 13 Locati on of
fr ont pas se n ger's
a ir ba g: in the instru·
m ent pa nel
Your vehicle i s equ ipped with an "Advanced A irbag System" in compli ­
ance with United States Federal Moto r Veh icle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you r veh icle was ma nufac­
t u red . The safety be lts for the front seats have " pretensioners" that
help to take s lack out of the be lt system. The p ret ensioners are a lso
activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system.
T he front safe ty be lts also have load limi ters to help red uce t he forces
applied to the body in a c rash.
T he airbag for the dr iver is in the steering whee l hub => fig . 212 and
the airbag fo r the front passenger is in the instrument panel
=> fig. 213 . T he general location of the airbags is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lo t you need to know abou t the airbags in your vehicle. We
urge you to read the deta iled information about airbags , safety be lt s
and child safety i n this and t he o ther chapters that make up the
owner's literature . Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely importa nt fo r your safety a nd the sa fety of your passen ­
gers, especially infants a nd small children .
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
• Even when they deploy, airbag s provide only supplementa l
protection .

Airbag system Ill
----------------=--=---
& WARNING (co ntinued )
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
imm ediately ins tall the rear-facing child seat in a rear seating
position and have the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you mu st install a forward-facing
c hild restraint on the front passenger 's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and cert ified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
pa ssenger front and side airbag .
• Never put the forward-facing child re straint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Alway s move the passenger seat into it s rearmost po sition in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible , befo re installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright pos ition.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on .•
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat i n your veh icle has a lot of very important
parts o f th e A dva nced A irbag System in it. These parts include t he
we ight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, bracke ts, and more . The func­
ti on of the system in the front p assenger seat is chec ke d by the e lec ­
tr on ic contro l u ni t whe n the ig ni tion is on . T he contro l unit monitors
the Advanced Airbag System and turns the airbag indicator light on
when a mal function in the system compone nts is detected. The func­
tion of the a irbag indicator light is described in g reater detail be low.
Be ca u se the fron t passenge r seat con tains import ant parts of the
Advanced Ai rbag System, you must take care to prevent it from being
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
damaged
. Damage to the seat may prevent t he Adva nced A irbag for
t he fro nt pa ssenge r se at from d oin g its jo b in a cra sh.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists of the
following:
• Cras h sensors in the front of the vehicle t hat measure vehicle
acc ele rat ion/d ece le rat ion to prov ide info rma tion t o the Adv anced
Airbag System about t he severity of the crash .
• An e lec tron ic con trol uni t, w ith i ntegr ated cr ash sen sors fo r front
and side impacts. The contro l unit "dec ides" w het her to fire the front
air bag s base d on th e inf ormati on re ceived from t he cr ash sensors.
T he control unit also "decides" whether the saf ety b elt pret ensio ners
sh ould be ac tiva ted.
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the dr ive r inside the
stee ring w hee l hub .
• An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside the inst rument
p ane l for the fron t passenge r.
• A weig ht-sensing mat under the upholste ry padd ing of the front
passenge r seat cushi on th at m easures the tota l we ig ht on t he seat.
The informat ion registe red is se nt co ntinuo us ly to the electronic
contr ol un it to r egulat e dep lo ym en t of th e fr ont Adv anced A irbag on
the passenger side .
• An a irbag moni to ring system a nd ind icator light in the inst rume nt
cl uster =>
page 217.
• The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on an d stays o n in the
center o f the instr ument panel =>
page 218, fig. 215 an d tells you
whe n the fr ont Ad van ced Air bag on the p assenge r sid e has bee n
t ur ned off.
• A senso r bel ow th e saf ety b elt la tch fo r the front s eat pa ss e ng er
to meas ure the tension on the safety be lt . Th e tens io n on the safety
bel t an d t he we ight regi stered by the we ig ht- se ns ing mat he lp t he
cont rol un it "dec ide" whether the front airbag fo r th e front
pa ssenger se at sh o uld be tur ned o ff o r no t =>
p age 20 8, "Ch ild
restraints on t he front seat -some important thi ngs to know". ...
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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lower parts of the body . Front airbags supplement the th ree-point
sa fety belts o nly in some fron tal co llis io ns in whi ch the vehicl e decel­
eratio n is h igh enough to d eploy the a irbags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
• if the ignition is sw itched off when a cras h occ urs,
• in s ide collisions,
• in rea r-end collisions,
• in rollovers,
• when the cras h deceler ati on me asured by t he airba g sy st em is le ss
than t he m in imum thres hold needed for airbag dep loyment as regis­
t ere d by the e lectro nic cont rol uni t.
The front passenger airbag also will not deploy:
• when the front pas se ng er s eat is not occupi ed,
• when the we ight on the front passenge r seat as sense d by the
Adv anced Air bag Sy stem indicat es th at t he fron t a irbag on the
passenger s ide has to be turned off by the e lec tron ic cont rol u nit (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t com es o n an d st ay s on ).
& WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the risk of serious injury
in crashes .
• To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags 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
where the airbags are located.
• Occupants who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye=>
page 208 .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child 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 seat or infant carrier with
great force and will smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat .
• If you must install a rearward facing child seat on the front
passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on,
immediately install the rear-facing ch ild seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
& WARNING
Objects between you and the airb ag will increase the risk of injury
in a crash by interfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by
being 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 during
braking or other sudden maneuvers and become dangerous
projectiles that can cause se rious personal injury if the airbags
inflate.
• Never place or attach accessories or other objects (such as cup
holders, telephone brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects ) on the
doors , over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering
wheel, instrument panel, seat backrests or between those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a crash , especially
when the airbags inflate. ..,.

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& WARNING (conti nued)
position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi
deal er.
• A tight tether or othe r strap on a rearward-facing child
restraint attached to the front passenger seat can put too much
pressure on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and register more
weight than i s actually on the seat. The heav ier weight registered
can make the system work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed
causing serious or even fatal injury to the child .
• If, in ex ceptional circumstances, you must install a forward·
facing child restraint on the front passenger seat, always move
the seat into i ts rearmo st po sition in the seat's fore and aft adjust ·
ment range, as far away from the airbag as possible . The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright position. Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light do es not go out when an
adult is sitting on the front passenger seat after taking the steps
de scribed above, make sure the adult i s properly seated and
restrained at one of the rear seating positions.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer before
transporting anyone on the front passenger seat .
[ i ] Tips
If the we ight-sens ing mat in the front passenger seat detects an
empty seat, the front a irbag on the passenger side w ill be t urne d off,
and the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light w ill stay on .•
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts o f the a irbag system are installed at many different p laces on
your Audi. Install ing, remov ing, servic ing or repa iring a part in an
area of the ve hicle can damage a part of an airbag system and preve nt
t ha t system from working pro perl y in a coll is ion.
T here are some important thi ngs you have to know to make sure that
the effectiveness of the system will not be impa ired and that
discarded components do no t cause injury or poll ute the enviro n­
ment .
& WARNING
Improper care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing an airbag from
deploying when needed or deploying an airbag unexpectedly:
• Never cover, obstruct , or change the steering wheel horn pad or
airbag cover or the instrument panel or modify them in any way.
• Never attach any objects such as cup holders or telephone
mountings to the surfaces covering the airbag unit s.
• For cleaning the horn pad or instrument panel, use only a soft,
dry cloth or one moistened with plain water. Solvent s or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change the stiffness or strength
of the material so that the airbag cannot deploy and protect prop·
erly .
• Never repair, adjust, or change any part s of the airbag system .
• All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel , front seats
or electrical sy stem (including the installation of audio equip·
ment , cellular telephones and CB radios, etc .) must be performed
by a qualified technician who ha s the training and special equip ·
ment necessary .
• For any work on the airbag system, we strongly re commend
that you see your autho rized Audi dealer o r qualified workshop.
• Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
liJ,,

should always wear your safety belt, not just because the law requires
you to do so=>
page 197 , "General notes".
The safety belt buckle for the driver and front seat passenger have
switches that tell the airbag control module if the safety be lt is being
used or not.
If the safety belt is being used, the knee airbag will
dep loy at a s lightly higher rate of deceleration than if the be lt is not
being used. Therefore, in a particular collision, it is possible that an
airbag will not deploy at a seating position where the safety be lt is
being used but will inflate at the position where the safety belt is not
being used.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and only in certain kinds
of accidents -your safety belts are always there to offer protection in
those accidents in which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when
t hey have already deployed, for example when you r vehicle strikes or
is struck by another after the first collision.
Thi s is just one of the reasons why an airbag is not a substitute for the
safety belt . The airbag system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your safety belts correctly.
It is im portant to remembe r th at while the supplemental airbag
system is designed to reduce the likelihood of serious injur ies, other
injuries, for example, swe lling, bruis ing, and minor abrasions can
also be assoc iated with airbags.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
• The electronic contro l module
• Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas gene rator), one for the
driver and one for the front passenger
• The airbag indicator light in the instrument panel
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
• when the ignition is turned off
• in front-end collisions when the deceleration measured by the
control unit is too low
• in s ide collisions
• in rear-end collisions
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Airbag system
• in rollovers
• in the even t of a system ma lfunction (warning/ indicator lig ht ill u­
minated) =>
page 17.
& WARNING
• Safety belts and the airbag system can only provide protection
when occupants are in the proper seating position =>
page 215.
• If the airbag indicator light comes when the vehicle is being
used, have the system inspected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer. The airbag may not work properly when the vehicle
acceleration in a side collision is high enough to deploy the airbag.
See also =>
page 17. •
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area is reduced by fully
deployed knee airbags.
Fig. 217 Inflated
airbags protecting in a
frontal collision
The knee airbag system has been designed so that the airbags for the
dr iver and front passenger are dep loyed in certa in but not all frontal
collisions.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also deploy in frontal
collisions above a certain sever ity.
jll-
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service Technical data

ffl..,___A_ ir_ b_ a-=g :..- s.:o.y _s _t _e_ m _______________________________________________ _
When the system is dep loyed , the a irbags sta rt to fill with a propel­
lan t gas, and infla te be twee n the lower p art of th e ins tru men t pan el
and the driver and the lowe r part of the instrumen t panel a nd the
front passenge r=>
page 215, fig . 21 4.
Alt hough t hey are no t a soft pi llow, they can "cushi on" th e im pact
and in t his way they can he lp to reduce the risk of in jury to the lower
ext rem ities.
All this takes place i nstantaneously, so fast that many people don't
even rea lize that t he a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
w ith a great dea l of force a nd it is importa nt fo r occupant safe ty tha t
nothing should be i n their way when they deploy .
Fully inf lated air bag s in co mbination with prope rly wo rn sa fety bel ts
slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement and help to
re duc e the ris k. •
Important safety instructions on the knee
airbag system
Air bags are on ly su pp le m en ta l r es tra ints. Always wea r
s af ety be lts c orre ctly and ride in a p rop er seating pos i­
tion.
The re is a lot that you and your passenge rs must know and do to help
t he sa fe ty be lts and a irbag s to prov ide s uppl em ent al p rot ectio n.
& WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious injury. Wearing safety
belts incorrectly and improper seating positions increase the risk
of seriou s personal injury and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
• The airbag system cannot protect you properly if you are seated
too close to any of the airbag locations . When adjusting their seat
positions, it is important that both the driver and the front
& WARNING (co ntinued )
passenger keep their upper bodies and knees at the following
minimum safe di stances:
- 10 inches (25 cm) between the chest and the steering
wheel/instrument panel.
- 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the lower part of
the instrument panel.
• The risk of personal injury increases if you lean forward or to
the side, or if the seat is improperly positioned and you are not
wearing your safety belt. The risk increases even more should the
airbag deploy.
• Always make sure that the knee airbag can inflate without
interference. Objects between yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by interfering with the way the
airbag deploys or by being pushed into you as the airbag deploys .
- No persons (children ) or animals should ride in the footwell
in front of the passenger seat . If the airbag deploys, this can
result in serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any k ind should be carried in the footwell area
in front of the driver's or passenger 's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example ) can hamper or prevent proper deploy­
ment of the airbag. Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploy s and injure you or your passengers.
• Make sure there are no cracks , deep scratches or other damage
in the area of the instrument panel where the knee airbags are
located.
• If children are incorrectly seated, their risk of injury increases
in the case of an accident =>
page 231, "Child Safety". •