AUDI TT ROADSTER 2014 Owners Manual

-The inflating airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier wit h great
f o rce and w ill smash t he ch ild safety seat
and child aga inst the backrest, center
arm rest, d oor or roof.
- Never install a r earward facing child
sa fety seat on the front pass eng er s eat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light c omes on and stays on. If the PAS­
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t does no t
come on and stay on, the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant car­
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the a irbag will
increase the risk of injury 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 passenge r seat. Objects
cou ld move into the area of the front air­
bags dur ing braking or other s udden ma­
neuver and become dangerous projec ­
ti les 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 a reas 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 in to the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag dur ing braking or in a
sudden maneuver . Objects near the air -
-
Airbag system 119
bags can become projectiles and cause
inju ry, partic ularly when the seat is re­
clined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy
can cause breathing prob lems for people
with a history of asthma or other breath­
ing cond itions.
- To reduce the risk of breath ing problems,
those with asthma o r other respiratory
conditions shou 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, was h your hands and fa ce with
mild soap and wate r before ea ting.
- Be ca reful not to get the dust into your
eyes, o r into any cuts or sc ratches .
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
f lush them w ith wate r.
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
t!~ Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function
of the Advan ced Airbag System: the airbag
monitoring indi cator light and the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light.
T he Advanced A irbag System (including the
electron ic co ntro l unit, sensor circu its and sys­
tem wir ing) is monitored con tinuously to
make sure that it is functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Each time you
turn on the ignition, the a irbag mon itoring in­
dicator light
I will come on for a few seconds
(self diagnostics).
The sy stem mu st be in spected when th e
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 t he ignition, or
•
•

120 Airbag system
-comes on whi le driving .
I f an airbag system malfunct ion is detected,
the ind icator light will first start flash ing to
cat ch the d river's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immediately.
I f a malfunc tion occurs that turns the front
a ir bag on the passenger side off, the
PAS SEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay
on whenever the ignition is on .
.&_ WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning
properly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light comes on, it
means that there may be somet hing
wrong with the Advanced Airbag System.
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
when it is not supposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diat ely by your Aud i dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 11 5 Sect ion from the instrumen t pa nel: PASS EN­
GER AIR BAG OFF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
in the center of the instr ument panel
¢ fig. 115.
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 the 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: -
will stay on i f the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll stay on if there is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenger seat,
- will go out i f the front passenger sea t is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light mu st
come on and stay on
if the igni tion is on and
- a car bed has been installed on the front
seat, or
- a rearward-facing child restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward -fac ing ch ild restra int has been in­
stalled on the front passenger seat, or
- the we ight reg istered on the front passen­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com·
b ined weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear -facing or forwa rd-fac­
ing infan t restr aints listed in Feder al Motor
Ve hicl e Safety Standa rd 208 with wh ich the
Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airbag will not dep loy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on . Nev­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat ¢
page 110, Child
restraints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and¢ page 130, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER A IR BAG OF F light come s
on
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check t he light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuously whenever the
ignition is on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on a ll
t h e time, s top as soon as i t is safe to do so
and
- reactivate the system by t urning the ig nition
off and then turning it on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restra int .
Make s ure that the ch ild restra int is properly
installed and that the safety belt for the
fro nt passenge r seat has bee n correctly
rou ted aro und the ch ild restrai nt as

described in the child restraint manufactur­
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea­
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen­
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job<=>
page 138 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen­
sor is not blocked . Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
ch ild safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is not so tight that it
ca uses the we ight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes no t com e on and does not stay on con­
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen·
ger seat and have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Aud i dealer immediately .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and a n
adu lt is sitt ing in a p roper seat ing pos ition on
the front passenger seat.
If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li gh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while driving, un­
de r these circ umstances, make s ure that:
- the ad ult o n the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cus hion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
<=> page 93, Proper occupant seating posi­
tions,
- the ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
A irbag system 12 1
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the
PASSEN GER A IR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster d isplay. This is to in­
fo rm the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-
An airbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong with the Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in­
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspe cted imme­
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child withou t
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forwa rd-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
yea rs and younger, always ride properly
restrained fo r their age and size. •
•

122 Airbag sys te m
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PA SSEN GE R AIR BA G OFF
light does not appear and stay on have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear­
ward-fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-sens ing
mat in the seat and register more weight
than is actually on the seat. The heavier
weight registered can make the system
work as though an adu lt were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
must be suppressed caus ing serious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re­
straint on the front passenger seat, al­
ways move the seat into its rearmost po­ sit ion in the seat's fo re and aft adjust­
ment range, as far away from the airbag
as possib le . The backrest m ust be adjust­
ed to an upright position. Make sure that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the t ime when­
ever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passenger seat after taking
the steps described above, have the air­ bag system inspec ted by your Audi deal­
er before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the passenge r side will be
turned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
w ill stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Pa rts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta llin g,
removi ng, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the veh icle can damage a part of an
airbag system and prevent that system from
working properly in a coll is ion.
T he re a re some important t hings you have to
k now to make sure that the effectiveness o f
t h e system wi ll not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
l ute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv ic ing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
j u ry and death by prevent ing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or dep loying
an a irbag unexpec tedly:
- Never cover, obst ruct, or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or ai rbag cover
or the in st rument panel or mod ify them
in any way .
- Never attach any obje cts s uch as c up
holders or telephone mountings to the
sur faces covering the a irbag un its.
- For cle aning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry clo th or one
moistened with pla in water. Solvents o r
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the st iffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
p loy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the a irbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or e lectr ica l sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equ ipment, cellu lar telep hones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment ne cessary.
- For any wo rk on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work-
shop. ..,.

-Never modify the front bumper or parts
of the veh icle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag
can inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replace­
ment upho lstery ove r the front seat­
backs that have not been spec ifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use add itiona l seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
inflate .
- Damage to the o rigina l seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repa ired
immediate ly by an authorized Audi
dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once . After an airbag has inflated, it
must be replaced by an author ized Audi
dealer or qualif ied technic ian who has
the techn ica l information, tra ining and
special equipment necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an a irbag has been deployed,
it must be replaced w ith new replace­
ment parts designed and approved espe­
c ially for your Aud i model version. Re­
placeme nt of complete ai rbag systems
or airbag componen ts m ust be per­
f ormed by qualified workshops only.
Make su re that any airbag service act ion
is entered in your Audi Warranty
& Main­
tenance booklet under
AIRBAG REPLACE­
MENT RECORD.
- For safety reasons in severe accidents,
the a lternator and starter are separated
from the vehicle battery with a pyrotech­
nic circuit interrupter.
- Wo rk on the pyrote chnic cir cu it inter­
rupter must on ly be per formed by a
qualified dealer - risk of an accident!
- If the veh icle or the ci rcuit interrupter
is sc rapped, all applicable safety pre ­
cautions must be followed .
Airbag system 123
@:) For the sake of the environment
Un deployed airbag modules and p reten­
sione rs might be classified as Perchlorate
Materia l -special handling may apply, see
www. dtsc. ca.gov/hazard o u swa ste/ per-
ch lo rate. When the veh icle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
and safety be lts with pretensioners are
scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la­
tions mus t be obse rved. Your authori zed
A udi dealer is familia r wi th these require­
ments and we recommend that you have
your dealer perform this service fo r you .
Other things that can affect Advanced
Airbag performance
Chang ing the veh icle's suspens io n system can
c h ange the way that the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem perfo rms in a crash. For examp le, using
tir e-rim combi nat ions not approved by A udi,
l ower ing the veh icle, chang ing the st iffness of
the suspens ion, including the spr ings, suspen ­
sion struts, shock absorbers etc. can change
the forces that are measured by the airbag
sensors and sent to the electronic contro l
u nit. Some suspension changes can, for exam­
ple, i ncrease the force levels measured by the
sensors and make the airbag system deploy in c rashes in which it wou ld not deploy if the
c h anges had not been made. Other kinds of
c h anges may reduce the fo rce leve ls meas­
ur ed by the sensors and preven t the airbag
from dep loying when i t should.
T he sensors in the safety be lt b uck le for the
d rive r and fr on t p assenger seat te ll the e lec ­
tron ic cont ro l modu le if the s afety be lt is
l atche d or no t. If the safety be lt is being used,
the front airbag will deploy at a slightly high­ er rate of veh icle deceleration t han i f th e safe­
ty belt is not be ing used. Therefore, in a par­
ticular coll is ion, it is possible t hat an airbag
will not deploy at a seat ing pos ition where the
safety belt is be ing used b ut w il l inflate at the
pos ition wher e th e safety be lt is not be ing
u sed. It is impo rtant that noth ing in terfere
Ill>
•
•

124 Airbag system
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen­
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic control unit.
,&. WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's suspension includ­
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina­
tions can change Advanced Airbag per­
formance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspens ion components
that do not have the same performance
characteristics as the components origi­
nally insta lled on your vehicle.
- Never use ti re-rim combinat ions that
have not been approved by Audi.
,&. WARNING
-
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con­
trol modu le and prevent the Advanced A ir ­
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter-
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple­
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig. 116 Driver's airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 116, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan­
el underneath the glove compartment .
T he knee airbag offe rs addi tional p rotec tion
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up­
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection by the safety belts.
If t he front a irbags dep loy, the k nee a irbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
~ page 118, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal sa fety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in a fronta l collision so that
the a irbags can provide supplemental protec­
t ion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc ­
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. A l­
ways remember that the airbag system can
only he lp to protect you if you are wearing
you r safety belt and wea ring it properly. This
is why you should a lways wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requi res you to
do so~
page 101, General notes.
The safety belt buckle for the driver and front
seat passenger have switches that tell the air­
bag control module if the safety bel t is being
u sed or not .
If the safety belt is be ing used,
t h e knee a irbag w ill deploy at a s light ly h igher
rate of dece leration than if the belt is not be ­
ing used. Therefore, in a particular co llision, it
is possib le that an airbag will not dep loy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position where the
safety belt is not being used .
Remember too, airbags will deploy on ly once
and only in certa in kinds of accidents - your
safety belts are always there to offer protec­
t ion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy o r whe n they have al­
ready dep loyed, for example when your vehi­
cl e s trikes or is st ru ck by ano ther after the
first collision . ..,.

This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effective ly when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly .
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental knee a irbag system is des igned
to reduce the like lihood of serious injuries,
other injuries, for example, swel ling, bruising,
minor abrasions and friction burns can also
occur when an a irbag inflates.
The knee airb ag sy stem ba sically con sist s
of:
-The electronic contro l modu le
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas gen-
erator), one for the driver and one for the
front passenger
- The airbag indicator light in the instrument
panel
The knee airbag sy stem will not d eploy :
-when the ignition is turned off
- in frontal col lisions when the dece lerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in s ide collisions
- in rear-end collisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunct ion (warn-
ing/indicator light is on)~
page 15.
A WARNING
-Safety belts and the a irbag system can
o nly prov ide protection when o ccupants
are in the proper sea ting posit ion
~page 118.
-If the airbag indicato r light comes when
t h e vehicle is being used, have the sys­
tem inspected immediately by your au ­
thorized Audi dea ler.
-
A irba g sy stem 125
How knee airbags work
The risk of injury to the leg area can be re­
duced by fully inflated knee airbags .
Fig . 1 17 In flated a irbags protecting in a fronta l colli ­
sion
The knee airbag system has been designed so
that the airbags for the driver and front pas­
senger deploy in certain but not all frontal
collisions .
If the front a irbags deploy, the knee a irbags
also deploy in frontal collisions when the de­
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met .
When the system deploys, the airbags fill
with a propellant gas, and inflate between the lower pa rt of the instrument pa nel and the
driver and the lower part of the instrument
panel and the front passenger
9 page 118,
fig. 114 .
Although they are not a soft p illow, they can
"cushion" the impact and in th is way they can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the lower
extremit ies.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate wi th a great deal of fo rce and it is im­
portant for occupant safety t hat no thing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy .
Fully inf lated ai rbags in combination with
properly worn safe ty be lts s low down and lim­
it the occupant's forward movemen t an d help
to reduce the risk of injury.

126 Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al­
ways wear safety bel ts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passenger
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags to provide supp lemental protection.
.&_ WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts inco rrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
-
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad­
just ing their seat positions, it is impor­
tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the fo llowing min imum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and t he steering wheel/ instru­
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru­
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is imp roperly posit ioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The r isk in­
creases even more should the airbag de­
ploy.
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag
c an in flate without interference. Obje cts
between you and the airb ag can increase
the risk of inju ry in an acc iden t by inter ­
f ering with the way the airbag dep loys or
by being pushed into you as t he a irbag
dep loys .
- Never let anybody, especially ch ild ren
or an imals ride in the footwe ll in front
of the passenger seat.
If the airbag de- ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injur
ies.
- Never ca rry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger 's seat. Bulky objects (shop­
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the a irbag. Small objects can be
th rown thro ugh the ve hicle if th e air­
bag deploys and injure yo u or your pas­
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scr atc hes or o ther dam age in the area of
the ins trumen t panel where the knee a ir­
bags are lo cated .
- If chi ld ren are incorrectly se ated, their
ris k of injury increases in a co llision
~page 130, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig . 11 8 Side airb ag locat ion in th e drive r's seat
The side airbags are loca ted in the sides of t he
fron t seat b ackrests
q fig. 118 fa cing the
doo rs . They are identif ied by the word "A IR­
BAG".
Th e side airbag sy stem ba sic ally consi st s of:
- the electron ic contro l module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster .

The airbag system is monitored electronically
to make certain that it is functioning properly
at all times. Each time you turn on the igni­
tion, the airbag system indicator light will
come on for a few seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supp lements the safe­
ty belts and can help to reduce the risk of in ­
jury to the driver's and front passenger's up­ per torso on the side of the veh icle that is
struck in a side collision. The airbag deploys in
side impacts and only whe n the vehicle accel­
erat ion reg istered by the contro l unit is hig h
e nough. If t his rate is below the reference val­
ue programmed into the control u nit, the s ide
airbags w ill not be triggered, even tho ugh the
car may be badly damaged as a res ult of the
col lision . It is not possible to define an airbag
tr igger ing range that will cover every poss ible
angle of impact, since the circumstances w ill
vary cons iderably between one coll is ion and
another. Important factors include, fo r exam ­
ple, the natu re ( hard o r soft) of the impacting
object, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. Q page 128, Important safety instruc­
tions on the side airbag system.
Aside from the ir normal safety function, safe­
ty belts work to he lp keep the d river or front
passenger in posit ion in the event of a side
coll is ion so th at the s ide airb ags can provide
p rotec tion.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rathe r, it is pa rt of the overall oc­
cup ant res traint system in your veh icle. Al­
ways remember tha t the side airbag system
can only he lp to protect you if yo u are wearing
your safety belt and wearing it properly. This
is another reason why you sho uld a lways wear
your safety belts, not just because the law re­
qu ires you to do so
Q page 101, General
notes .
It is important to remember that while the
supplemental s ide a irbag system is designed
to reduce the like lihood of serious injur ies,
other i njuries, for example, swel ling, b ruising,
and minor abras io ns can also be assoc iated
with deployed side a irbags . Remember too,
side ai rbags will deploy on ly on ce and on ly in
A irbag system 127
certain kinds of accidents -your safety belts
are a lways the re to offer p rotection.
Vehicle damage, repair costs or even t he lack
of ve hicle damage are not necessa rily an in di­
cation o f ove r-sensitive or failed airbag activa ­
tion . In some collisions, both fro nt and side
airbags may inflate . Remember too, t hat air ­
bags will deploy only once and on ly in certain
k inds of col lis ions -yo ur safety belts are al­
ways the re to offer p rotection in those acc i­
dents in which a irbags a re not supposed to
deploy or wh en they have a lready deployed .
The side airbag system will not deploy:
- when t he ignit ion is turned off
- in side co llisions when the acceleration
meas ured by the sensor is too low
- in rear -end co llisions
- in rollove rs .
In some types of accidents the front airbags
and s ide airbag s may be triggered toge ther.
.&_ WARNING
- Safety belts and the airbag system will
only provide pro tection when occupants
are in the proper seating position
Qpage 128.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light comes on
when the vehicle is being used, have the
system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. The airbag may
not work properly when the ve hicle ac­
c e leration in a side collis ion is high
e nough to activate t he a irbag .
-
•
•

128 Airbag system
How supplemental side airbags work
Side airbags deploy instantly and con help re­
duce the risk of upper torso injuries for occu­
pants who ore properly restrained.
Fig. 119 Inflated s ide airbags on left side of vehicle
When the system is triggered, the airbag is
filled with propellant gas and breaks through
a seam in the seat surface area marked "AIR­
BAG". It expands between the side trim panel
and the passenger . In order to help provide
this additional protection, the side airbag
must inflate within a fraction of a second at
very high speed and with great force. The sup­ plemental side airbag could injure you if your
seating position is not proper or upright or if
items are located in the area where the sup­
plemental side airbag expands. This applies
especially to children
Q page 130, Child Safe­
ty.
Supplemental side airbags inflate between
the occupant and the door panel on the side
of the vehicle that is struck in certain side col­
lision
Q fig . 119.
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 upper
part of the body.
A fine dust may develop when the airbag de­
ploys. This is normal and does not mean there
is a fire in the vehicle. Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags ore only
supplemental restraints. Al­
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro­
vide supplemental protection.
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used.
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
- Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
-Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
-Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace­ ment upholstery over the front seat­
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air­
bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.