warning AUDI TT COUPE 2017 Owners Manual

Airbag syste m
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat instal­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously injured and can be k illed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Although the Advanced A irbag System in
you r vehicle is designed to tu rn off the front
airbag when a rea rwa rd-facing child re­
straint has been insta lled on the fron t pas­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely g uaran ­
tee that deployment is impossible in a ll con ­
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag w ill hit the child seat or
infant carrier w ith great force and will
smash the ch ild seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re­
straints on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN­
G ER A IR BAG OFF,;; light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear­
facing child seat in a rea r seating pos ition
and have the a irbag system inspected by
yo ur Audi dealer.
& WARNING
If, i n ex cept ional circumstances, you must i n­
sta ll a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing se at
has been designed and ce rtified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a f ront seat with a pas­
senger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
u p against or very near the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air­
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restra int.
204
-
- lways make sure that t he safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be p roperly posi­
tioned.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing o n
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the sea t is occup ied by a perso n when it is
not, or to s ignal th at it is occupie d by some­
one who is heavier than the person ac tually
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi­
tional objects cou ld 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 if f erent from the way it wou ld
have worked without the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF "1; light comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ig nitio n is swi tched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fro nt passenge r seat in your veh icle has a lot
of ve ry important parts of the Advanced A irbag
Syste m in it. These parts incl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, wir ing, b racke ts,
and more . The con trol uni t monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected<=>
page 209. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
parts of the Adva nced A irbag System, you must
take care to p revent it from being damaged.
Damage to the seat may prevent the Advanced
A irbag Sys tem for the front passenge r seat from
do ing its job in a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle tha t
meas ure vehicle acce le ra tion/dece le ra tion to
prov ide in formation to the Advanced A irbag
System about the sever ity of the crash .
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integ rated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The

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control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
shou ld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
- A capacitive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys­
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
El in the instrument cluster.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis­
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor­
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Adv a need Airbags.
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on and stays on in the headliner¢
page 209,
fig. 163 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
-A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transm its this information to the electronic
contro l unit.
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 functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
Airbag system
-Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under 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 place 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 Air­
bag System from recognizing child re­
straints 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,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe­
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
205

Airbag syste m
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
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to properly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGE R AIR BA G OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, immediate ly
install child restra int in a rea r 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
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~;
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag ind icator light
m in the inst ru­
ment cluster.
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soa ked in, this may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenger frontal a irbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a properly
installed chi ld restraint system on t he seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet things on the seat
c u shion can have the same effect . If the
front passenger frontal airbag is turned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light light
will go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
ai rbags s upplement the protection offered by the
front three -po int safety bel ts with p retensioners
and load limiters to he lp reduce the risk of injury
in a wide range of accident and crash situations.
206
Be sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the ac tiva tion of the sa fe ty belt pretensioners de ­
pend on the dece leration measured by the c rash
sensors 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 or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
use, the front passenger frontal a irbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in t he electron ic contro l unit . The
front passenger frontal a irbag w ill also be tur ned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
t h e fron t passe nger sea t equals that of a n infan t
of about one year of age in one o f the chi ld sea ts
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Fe d era l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off
c> page 209 .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in­
flates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or ou t of position i n any way,
your r is k of injury is much highe r.
- You will also receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u ar e u p against the
airbag or too close to i t when it inflates -
eve n with a n Advanced Airb ag
i=>page 197.

More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 162 Inflated front a irbags
Safety bel ts a re important to help keep front
seat occupants in the p roper seated position so
that airbags can unfold properly and provide sup­
p lemental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to p rovide addi­
tional protect ion for the chest a nd face of the
d river and the front seat passenger when:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye w ith
great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat cou ld become dangerous pro­
jectiles , and be pushed into you if the airbag in­
flates .
When an a irbag deploys , fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
veh icle. Th is dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy . It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental a irbag system is designed to reduce
the likel ihood of ser ious injuries, o ther inj uries,
for example swe lling, b ruising and mino r abra­
sions, c an a lso happe n when airbags inflate. Ai r­
bags do not protect the arms o r the lowe r parts
of the body . Front airbags supplement the three
point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
~ in which the vehicle decelerat ion is high enough ....
~ to deploy the airbags.
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Airb ag sys tem
Front a irbags will not deploy :
-if the ignition is sw itched off when a crash oc-
curs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end col lisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
ai rbag system is less than the m inimum thresh ­
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electron ic con trol un it.
The front pa ssen ger airbag will als o not
deploy:
- when the fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the e lectr ica l capacitance measured by
the capacit ive passenger detection system for
the front passenger seat ind icates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the ele ctro nic con trol un it ( the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
'-i; lights> page 209 and how
they work comes o n and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of ser ious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags in flate, the driver and passengers must al ­
ways sit in an upright posit ion, m ust not
lean aga inst or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of positio n
or too close to the airbag can be serio usly
i nju red by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blink of an eye~
page 198.
A WARNING
-A child in a rearward-facing child seat ins tal­
l ed on the front passenger seat will be se ri­
ously injured a nd ca n be killed i f the front air­
bag inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The infla ting airbag will h it the chi ld s eat o r
infant carrier wi th great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, doo r or roof . .,..
207

Airbag syste m
-Always install rear -facing child seats on the
rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing chi ld
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN ­
G ER 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
you r Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag w ill in­
crease the risk of in jury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfo lds or by be­
ing pushed into yo u as the airbag inflates.
-
- Never hold th ings 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 du r­
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious personal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cup holders, te lephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru­
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a crash, espe cially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenge r's seat to
t ransport objects . Items can also move into
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 passenge r seat could cause the capac itive
sensor in t he 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
208
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 t urned 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
wo rked without objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing o n
the front passenge r seat that will cause the
capacitive passenge r de tection system in
the sea t to signal to the Airbag System tha t
the seat is occup ied by a person when it is
not , or to signal that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person act ually
sitt ing 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 diffe rent from the way it would have
wo rked without the object on the seat.
- Never til t the front passenger seat backrest
forward when the vehicle is mov ing . An in­
flating airbag wi ll force t he bac krest back­
ward and can injure rear seat occup ants .
_& WARNING
The fine dus t created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing prob lems for people with a
h istory of asthma or other breathing condi ­
tions.
- To reduce the r isk of breathing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory con­
ditions sho uld get fresh ai r right away by
getting out of the vehicle or opening win ­
dows or doors.
- If you are in a co llision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with m ild
soap and water before eating.
- Be carefu l not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches .
-If the residue shou ld get into your eyes,
flush them w ith water .

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Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the fun ction of
the A dvanced Airbag System: the
El ligh t and
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON @ Light.
The Advanced Airbag System as we ll as the side
a ir bags and side c urta in air bags with ejec tion
m it iga tion fea tures ( in cludi ng the e lectro nic con­
tro l uni t, sensors and sys tem wiring) are a ll
monitored co nti nu ously to ma ke sure that they
are funct ioning properly whenever the ignition is
on. Every t ime you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system ind icator
light E,lwill come on for a
few seconds (function check).
The system must be inspected when the
indicato r light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignit ion is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
switched on the ign ition, o r
- comes on w hile driving.
If an airbag sys tem malf unct ion is de te cte d, the
indicator light w ill come on to serve as a co nstant
remi nder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately .
If a mal function occurs that turns the front air­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~.
lig ht w ill come o n an d stay on
whenever the ignit ion is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct io ning prop­
erly cannot provide supplemental p rotection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicato r light¢
page 15
comes whe n the vehicle is be ing used, have
th e sys te m in spect ed immed iate ly by yo ur
au tho riz ed Aud i deale r.
It is possible that
th e air bag will i nflate w hen it i s n ot su p­
p osed to, o r will not infla te whe n it shou ld.
Airbag system
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; ON @ light
Fi g. 163 Sect io n from t he headli ner: PASSENGE R AIR BAG
OFF~ ; ON
@ light
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light is
located in t he headliner ¢
fig. 163.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light will come
o n and stay on to tell you w hen t he fro nt Ad­
van ced Air bag o n the p assenge r side has been
tu rned
off by t he e lec tron ic control unit. If the
bulb fo r the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
light b urns o ut, t he a irbag ind icator light El w ill
come on to signal a ma lfunction in the Advanced
Airbag System. Altho ugh the burned-out b ulb
will not change the way the front passenger's
frontal a irbag works, it w ill no longer be possible
to use the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @
ligh t to make s ure that the airbag on/off s tatus is
c or rec t fo r th e o ccu pan t on the front passenge r
sea t. Have the airb ag system inspec ted immedi­
ate ly by yo ur au thorized A udi d ealer .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON @ light
will blink for about S seconds when:
- the capacit ive passenger detection system,
which switc hes the front sea t passe nger's fron ­
tal Advanced Airbag o n and off, detects a
change in the st atus of the front pa sse nger
se at.
As soon as the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; ON
@ light s tops blin kin g, a lways make sure that the
air bag st atus (on o r off) as shown by the ligh t is
prope r for the age, size and e lec trica l capacitance
of t he perso n occ up ying the front passenger
seat . Always ma ke sure that the safety be lt fo r
t h e front passenger seat is proper ly fastened .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;/ PASSENGER
AIR BAG ON
@ light will show the statu s of the ..,.
209

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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
P ASS 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 15
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
seats on the rea r seat- even w ith an Ad­
vanced Ai rbag System .
- I f you must install a rea rwa rd-facing child
seat on the front passenge r seat because of
except ional circumstances a nd the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF,;,
light does not appea r
and stay on, immediate ly install the rear ­
facing chi ld seat in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your 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 .
211

Airbag syste m
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
11;; li ght comes on and stays on all t he
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF 11;; light
does not go out when an adult is si tting on
the front passe nger seat a fter ta king the
steps described above, make sure the adult is p roperly seated and restrained at one of
the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer befo re t ransporting anyone on
the front passenger seat.
@ Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenge r
side w ill be tu rned off, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
11;; 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, 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 prevent that system from working properly
i n a collision .
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repai r proce­
dures can increase the r is k of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
ploying when needed or dep loying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the stee r­
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strument pane l or modify them in any way.
212
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up ho lders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois­
tened w ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag canno t deploy and p rotect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust , or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in­
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular telephones and C B radios, etc.)
m ust be perfo rmed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and specia l equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we strong ly recommend that you see your au­
thorized A udi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front b umper or parts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
A udi.
- Never use additional seat c ushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in­
flate.
- Damage to the orig inal seat cove rs or to
the seam in the area of the s ide airbag
module mus t alway s be repaired immedi­
ate ly by an autho riz ed Au di dealer.
- The a irbag system can deploy on ly once. Af­
ter an airbag h as been deployed, i t m ust be
repla ced with new replacement parts de­
signed and approved espec ia lly for your
Audi model version . Replacement of com­
plete airbag systems or airbag components
must be perfo rmed by qua lified workshops
only. Make su re that any airbag service ac­
tion is entered in your A udi Warranty
&
Ma intenance boo klet under AIRBAG RE-
PLAC EM EN T RECORD.
~

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-For safety reasons in severe accidents, the
alternator and starter are separated from
the vehicle battery with a pyrotechn ic circuit
interrupter.
- Work on the pyrotechnic circ uit interrupt ­
er must only be performed by a qualified
technicians who have the experience, in ­
formation and special tools necessary to
perform the work safely.
- If the vehicle or the circuit interrupter is
scrapped, all app licab le safety precautions
must be followed .
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les a nd pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo­
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modules and
safety belts with pretensioners are scrapped,
all applicable laws and regulations must be
observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is fa­
m iliar with these requi rements a nd we recom­
mend t hat you have you r dealer perform this
service for you.
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Changing the vehicle's suspension system can
change the way that the Advanced Airbag System
performs in a crash . For example, using tire-r im
comb inat ions not approved by Audi, lowering the
ve hicl e, chang ing the stiffness of the suspens io n,
in clud ing the spr ings, suspens ion str uts, shock
absorbers et c. can change the forces that are
measured by the airbag sensors and sent to the
e lectronic contro l unit. Some suspension changes
can, for example, increase the force levels meas­
ured by the sensors and make the airbag system
deploy in crashes in wh ich it would not deploy if
the changes had not been made. Other ki nds of
changes may reduce the fo rce levels meas ured by
the sensors and prevent the airbag from deploy­
in g when i t should .
Airbag sys tem
A WARNING
-Changing the vehicle's suspension including
use of unapproved tire-rim combinations can
change Advanced Airbag performance and in­
crease the risk of serious persona l injury in a
crash.
- Never install suspension components that
do not have the same pe rformance charac­
teristics as the components o rigina lly ins tal­
led on your vehicle.
- Never use tire-rim combinations t hat have
not been approved by Audi.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to prop erly restrained front sea t
occupants.
F ig. 16 4 D river 's knee a irbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
u nderneath the steering whee l
~fig. 164, the
airbag fo r the p asse nger is at about the same
height in the instr ument pane l underneath the
glove compa rtment.
T he knee airbag offers add itiona l protection to
the driver's and passenge r's knees and uppe r and
lower thigh areas and supp lements the protec­
tion provided by the safety be lts .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags a lso
deploy in fron tal coll is ions when the deploymen t
threshold stored in the cont rol un it is me t
~ page 207, More important things to know
about front airbags.
213

Airbag system
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can provide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­ member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do so ¢
page 189, Gener­
al notes.
Remember too, airbags will deploy only once and
only in certain k inds of accidents - your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
examp le when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt. The a irbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correct ly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
p lemental knee airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju ­
ries, for example, swe lling, bruising and minor
abrasions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates .
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
- T he electronic control module
- T wo inflatab le airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag warning light in the instr ument clus­
ter
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-whe n the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the deceleration
measured by the control un it is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end collisions
214
- in rollovers
-in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
indicator light is on)
¢ page 15.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position¢
page 207 .
-If the airbag indicator light¢ page 15
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area con be reduced
by fully inflated knee airbags.
Fig. 165 I n flated a irbags protect ing in a fro nta l coll ision
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the dr iver and front passen­
ger dep loy in certain but not all fronta l collisions .
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill with a
prope llant gas, and inflate between the lower
part of the instrument panel and the driver and
the lower part of the instrument panel and the
front passenger
¢page 207, fig. 162 .
Although they are not a soft pillow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in this way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower ex­
tremities.