warning AUDI TT ROADSTER 2011 Manual Online

116 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra in t and is no t a s ubst i­
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 107.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel, investi­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air ­
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 110, Safety belts .
-If ch ildren are not properly restra ined,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad­
just the fro nt seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢ page 99, Proper occupant seating po­
sitions.
- Always sit uprig ht with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in ju ries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed i n a crash must
b e repla ced.
- Use on ly or ig inal equipment airbags ap­
p roved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technici an who has the necessa ry too ls
an d diagnost ic equipment to properly re­
p lace any airbag in your vehicle an d as­
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air ­
bags to be installed in yo ur vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and head the WARNINGS for important de ­
tails about children and Advanced A irbags
¢page 136.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dange rous place fo r a
c hi ld to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place fo r a child in a fo rward-facing child safe­
ty seat.
It can be a very d angerous p lace for a n
infant or a chi ld in a rearw ard-f acing seat.
T he Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the Require ­
ments of Un ited States Fede ral Motor Vehicle .,.

Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup­
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for­
ward -facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
q page 138.
The PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seco nds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
q page 125, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be tu rned off .
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old
chi ld but less than the weight of a sma ll
ad ult, the front airbag on the passenge r side
can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
l igh t does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic control unit
and can dep loy if the control u nit senses an
impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory.
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
Airbag system 117
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year -old chi ld is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f
the child safety seats listed
q page 138), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger ai rbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on .
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (t he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate a nd stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting upright with their back against a
non-recl ined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat ¢
page 99, Proper seating po ­
sition for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standard requ ires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
t h e risk of injury th rough inte ract ion w ith the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that ta ke pla ce at lower dece le rat io ns
as de fined in the e lectronic co ntrol unit
¢ page 1 26, PASSENG ER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remember, a c hild safety seat o r in fant
car rie r in st alled on the fron t seat may be
stru ck and kno cked ou t of po sitio n by the rap­
i dly i nflat ing passenger 's airbag in a fronta l
collision. The ai rbag co uld great ly red uce the
effectiveness of the chi ld restraint and even
seriously in jure the child during inflation.
For t his reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for c hildren - when proper ly
rest rained according to their age and size -we
strong ly recommend that chi ldren a lways sit
i n the back seat¢
page 136, Child Safety .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety
seat ins talled on the fron t passenger seat
will be ser io us ly injure d and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad-
v anc ed Airbag System . ..,_
•
•

118 Airbag sys te m
- The inflati ng airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backr est, door or
ro of.
- If you must install a rearwar d facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat b ecause of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
- Forward -fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfere with the deployment of the air­
bag and cause serious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up aga inst or very near the inst ru­
me nt pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irb ag as poss ible be fore instal ling
the fo rward-facing child restraint. T he
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be d isplayed whenever a ch ild re- straint is
insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de­
scribed ¢
page 125, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not s tay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in­
stalling child restra ints.
A WARNING
=
If, in except ional circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
r estra int on t he front passe nger's seat:
- Imp rope r installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiv eness o r even
p reven t them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as i t de­
p loys and seriously inj ure o r even k ill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur­
er 's instructions p rov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg is­
tered by 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. 119 Lo cation of dri ver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 120 Loca tion of front passe nger's ai rb ag : in the in­
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec­
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub¢
fig. 119 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig. 120. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air­
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
Airbag system 119
detailed information about airbags, safety
b elts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING ,.;;
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve­
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es­
pecially infants and small children, will re­
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil­
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavie r than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de­
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that chil ­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For its own safety, a child should always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size.
-

The front airbag on the passenger side may
not dep loy (the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adu lt or teenager is on the fron t pas ­
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floor in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the a irbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re­
duce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower de­
celerations as defined in the electronic co ntrol
un it
o page 125 .
Alway s rem ember : Please be sure to read the
important information in the sections that
follow and be sure to heed all of the WARN­
INGS.
8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in­
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
opage 115 .
A WARNING ,~
A child in a rearward -facing child sa fety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
wi ll be seriously injured and can be ki lled if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle is designed to turn
off the
front a irbag when a rearward-fac ing
child restraint has been installed on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso­ lute ly guarantee that deployment is im-
A irbag system 12 1
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, door, or roof.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im­
media tely ins ta ll the rear-fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea le r.
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified
by
its manufacturer fo r use on a front seat
wit h a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re­
straint up against or very near the instru­
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing
the forwa rd-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
bac krest mus t be adju sted to a n up right
posi tion.
- Ma ke su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
T he front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, w iri ng, brack-
ets, and more . The funct ion of the system in ..,.
•
•

122 Airbag sys te m
the front passenger seat is checked by t he
e lectronic control unit when the i gnition is on .
The control unit mon itors the Advanced Air ­
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected. The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low. Because the front passenger
seat conta ins impo rtant parts of t he Ad­
v a nce d Airb ag System, you m ust ta ke ca re to
prevent it from be ing damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The f ront Advanced Airbag System
consi sts o f th e following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic contro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors. The contro l
unit a lso "dec ides" w hethe r th e safety be lt
pretensioners should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
th e d river ins ide the steer ing whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
s ide the instrument pane l for the front pas­
senger.
- A weig ht-sens ing mat under the upholste ry
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush io n
t h at meas ure s the tot al we igh t on the seat.
T he information registered is sen t con tinu­
o usly to the electron ic cont ro l u nit to regu­
l ate dep loyment of the front A dvanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢ page 125.
- The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment pane l¢
page 126, fig. 122 and tells
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenger s ide has been turned off. -
A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r th e d riv­
er and fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses whet her t hat safety bel t is latche d or
not and transmi ts this information to t he
electronic control unit.
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
p revent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Improper repair or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
fu nctioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personnel.
- Never rem ove t he front passenger or
driver seat from t he vehicle.
- Never
remove th e upho lstery from the
front passenge r seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from
the seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in yo ur poc kets
or place them on the seat. If the weight­
sensing mat in the passenge r seat is
punctured it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on you r lap or carry
objects on the passenger seat. Such items can increase the weight registered
by the weight-sensing mat and send the
wrong in formation to the airbag co ntrol
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger sea t. Parts of the Advan ced Air­
b ag Sys tem unde r the p assenger se at
-
could be damaged, p reven ting t hem and ~

the airbag system from working proper­ly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re­
straints or occupants on the front pas­
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop ­
erly .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function ­
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
straint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of­
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations . Be sure to read the impor­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten-
Airbag system 123
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. I f the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­
er time in the crash sequence.
If the electronic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity , the first stage of the air ­
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re­
gardless of whether the safety belt is being
used or not . In higher severity crashes as reg­
istered by the electronic control unit, both the
first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 116, Child r estraints on the front s eat
- some important things to know.
_&, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained , leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position 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 in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 115.
•
•

124 Airbag system
More important things to know about
front airbags
F ig. 121 Inflated fro nt airbags
Safety belts are impo rtant to help keep fro nt
seat occupants in the p roper seated pos it io n
so that airbags can unfo ld prope rly and pro­
vide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect ion for the chest a nd face of
the dr iver and 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 possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been proper ly
adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye
with great force, things you have on your lap or have placed on the seat could become dan­
ge rous projectiles, and be pushed into you if
the airbag inflates .
When an a irbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in
the vehicle . This d ust is made up mostly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy. It cou ld irritate s kin .
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re­
d uce the l ikelihood of serious in juries, other
in juries, fo r example swelling, bruisi ng and
m inor abras ions, ca n also happe n when air­
bags in flate. Airbags do not protect the a rms
or the lower pa rts of the body. Front airbags
only s upplement the t hree point safety belts
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle deceleration
is high eno ugh to deploy the air ­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy:
- if the ignition is sw itched off when a c rash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llisions,
- in rollovers,
-when the crash dece leration measured by
the airbag system is less than the min imum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic control unit .
The front passenge r airbag will al so not
deploy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occu­
p ied,
- when t he weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem ind icates that the front ai rbag on the
passenger side has to be turned off by the
elec troni c con trol un it (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and st ays on) .
_&. WARNING ~
Sitting in the wrong position can increase
the r isk o f se rious injury i n crashes.
- To reduce the risk of inju ry w he n t he air ­
bags i nflate, the drive r and passengers
m ust always sit in an upr ight position,
m ust not lean aga inst or place any part
of their b ody too close to the area where
the airbags a re located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the a irbag can be se­
rio usly injured by a n airbag as it unfolds
wit h great force i n the blink of an eye
¢page 116 .
_&. WARNING ~ -
A child in a rearward-fac ing c hild safety
seat in stalle d on the fron t passe nger s eat
will be serio usly inju re d and ca n be killed if
the front air bag in fla tes -even with an Ad­
vanced A irbag Sys tem.

-The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on and stay on, im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
&_ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of in jury in a crash by in­
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds or by being pushed into you as the a irbag
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 air­
bags dur ing braking or other sudden ma­
neuver and become dange rous projec­
t il es that can cause serious personal in­
jury if the airbags inflate.
- Never place o r attach accessories or oth­
er objects (such as cup ho lders, tele­
phone brackets, large, heavy or b ulky ob­
jects) on the doors, over or near the area
marked "AIRBAG" on the steering wheel,
instrument panel, seat backrests or be­
tween those areas and yourself. These
objects could cause injury in a crash, es­
pecially when the airbags inflate.
- 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 dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air­
bags can be come project iles and cause
injury, part icularly when the seat is re­
cl ined.
-
A irbag sys tem 125
&_ 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 with asthma o r other respiratory
conditions s hou ld get fresh air r ight
away by getting o ut of the veh icle or
open ing windows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags
deploy, wash your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before eating.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust in to your
eyes, o r into any c uts or sc ratches.
- If the residue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
fl~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indicator light and the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG O FF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System (includ ing the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wiring) is monitored continuously to
make sure that it is function ing properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the airbag mon itoring in­
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
Th e syste m mu st b e in spected when the
indicator light
I :
- 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 driving.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected,
the indicator light wi ll first start flashing to
catch the driver's attention and then stay on
llo-
•
•

126 Airbag system
con tinuously to serve as a constant remin der
to have the system inspected immed iately.
I f a malfu nction occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght 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 the re may be somet hing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diat ely by your Au di dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 122 Sect ion from the instr um ent pa nel: PASS EN ­
GER AIR BA G OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF Light is Located
in the cen ter of the instr ument panel
~ fig. 122 .
The PAS SENGE R 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 t he e lectronic control unit. Each
time you tu rn on the ig nition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght will flash for a few
seconds and:
- wi ll stay on if the fron t passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
rest raint on the front passenger seat, -
will go out i f the front passenge r seat is oc­
cup ied by an adult as registered by the
weight -sensing mat .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the ignition is on and
- a ca r bed has been installed on the front
seat , or
- a r earward-facing child rest raint has been
installed o n the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-fac ing ch ild restra int has b een in·
stalled on the front passenger seat , o r
- the weight reg iste red on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to o r less than the com·
b in ed weight o f a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac ­
ing infant restraints Listed in Federal Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standard 208 with which the
Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
t h e front airbag wi ll not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
Light will stay on . Nev ­
er install a rea rward -facing child restraint on
t h e front passenger seat, the safest p lace for
a chi ld in any kind of ch ild restraint is at one
of the seating posit io ns on t he rear seat
~ page 116, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 136, Child Safety.
If the PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s
on
when one of the cond itions Listed above is
met, be sure to check the Light regu larly to
make ce rtain tha t t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
Light stays on con tinuously wheneve r th e
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
Light does not appear and not stay on a ll
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by t urning the ign ition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reins tall the ch ild res tra int.
Make s ure that the ch ild restra int is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenger seat has been correctly .,.