weight AUDI TT ROADSTER 2015 User Guide

components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash.
The f ront Ad vanc ed Airb ag S ystem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle acceleration/deceleration
to provide information to the Advanced Air­
bag System about the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
c rash sensors for front and side impacts.
T he contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash sensors . The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for
the driver ins ide the steer ing wheel hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in­
side the instr ument panel for the front pas­
senger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The information registered is sent continu­
ously to the electron ic control unit to regu­
late dep loyment of the front Advanced Air­
bag on the passenger side.
- An a irbag monitoring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
¢page 118.
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the center of the instru­
ment pane l
¢page 119, fig. 113 and te lls
you when the front Adv anced Airbag on the
passenge r side has been turned off.
- A senso r below the safety belt latch for the
front seat passenger to me asure the tension
on the safety belt . The tens ion on the safety
belt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensing mat help the control unit
"dec ide" whether the front airbag for the
Airbag system 11 5
front passenger seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driv­
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or
not and transmits this information to the
electronic control unit .
.&, WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from wor king
properly.
- Improper repai r or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre­
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must
be pe rformed by qualified and p roperly
trained workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger o r
driver seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Neve r d isassemble o r remove parts from
the seat or disconnec t wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in you r pockets
or place t hem on the seat. If the weight­
sens ing ma t in the passenge r seat is
punctured it cannot work properly .
- Neve r 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 information to the airbag co ntrol
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas­
senger seat. Parts o f the Advanced Air­
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper­ ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement
upholstery that have not been specifica l­
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing chi ld
Ill>
•
•

116 Airbag sys te m
res traints or occupants on the fr ont pas­
senger seat and prevent the sid e airbag
in t he seat backrest from deploying prop­
erly.
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or
similar items on t he front passenger
seat . The add itional padd ing will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately reg istering the ch ild restra int
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function­ ing properly .
- If you mus t use a child restra int on the
front passenger seat and the ch ild re­
straint manufacturer's instructions re ­
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certa in that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re­
st raint is installed on the front passen­
ger seat .
- If the
PA SSENGER 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 s upplement the protection of ­
fered by the front three-point safety be lts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restra ints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a w ide range of acc ident and
crash situat ions . Be sure to read the impo r­
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS i n this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activat ion of the safety be lt preten­
sione rs depend on t he dece le rat ion meas ured
by the c rash senso rs and regis tered by the
e lectronic control un it . Crash severity depends
on speed and dece leration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle o r object involved
in the crash. When the e
lectronic contro l unit registe rs a
low severity cras h and the safety belt is being
u sed, the airbag will not dep loy.
If the sa fety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat­ er t ime in t he crash sequence.
If the electron ic contro l 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 be ing
u sed or not . In higher sever ity c rashes as reg­
i ste red by the elec tronic con tro l un it, bo th the
first and se con d stages dep loy almost at the
same t ime.
On the passeng er side, rega rdless of safety
belt use, t he a irbag w ill be tu rned off if the
we ight on the passenger seat is less th an the
amount programmed in the e lectronic control
u nit . The front airbag on the passenge r side
will a lso be turned off if one of the child safe ­
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recogni zed on the seat . The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light comes on and stays on to tell
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenge r side has been turned off
¢ page 109, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know .
.&_ WARNING ~
To reduce the risk of in ju ry when an a irba g
inflates , always wear safety be lts p roperly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forw ard ,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut o f position in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch higher.
- You will a lso receive se rious injuries and
could even be killed if you a re up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in­
f lates - even with an Advanced A irbag
¢page 108.

More important things to know about
front a irbags
F ig. 112 Inflated front airba gs
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated pos it ion
so that airbags can u nfold prope rly and pro­
v ide supp lemental protection in a fronta l co l­
lision .
The front a irbags are designed to provide ad­
d itiona l protect io n for the chest and face of
the dr iver and the fron t seat passenger whe n:
- safety belts are wor n prope rly,
- the seats have been posit ioned so tha t the
occupant is proper ly seated as far as possi­
ble from the a irbag,
- and the head restraints have been properly
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
gerous 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 dust is made up most ly of a
powder used to lubr icate the airbags as they
deploy. It cou ld i rritate s kin .
It is important to remember that while the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re ­
duce the likelihood of serious i njuries, other
inj uries, fo r example swell ing, bru isi ng a nd
minor abrasions, ca n also happen when air­
bags inflate. 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 be lts
in some frontal collisions in which the vehicle
A irba g sy stem 11 7
deceleration is high eno ugh to deploy the air­
bags .
Front airbags will not deploy :
-if t he ignition is sw itched off when a crash
occu rs,
- in side co llisions,
- in rear-end co llis ions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash dece leration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for a irbag deployment as
reg istered by the electronic con tro l unit .
The front pa ssenger airbag will also not
deploy:
- when the front passenge r seat is not occu­
pied,
- when the weight on the front passenger
seat as sensed by the Advanced Airbag Sys ­
tem ind icates that the front a irbag on the
passenger side has to be tu rned off by th e
elec tronic con trol un it (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li ght comes on and st ays o n).
&_ WARNING ~
Si tti ng in the wrong pos ition can inc rease
the r isk of se rious in ju ry in crashes.
- To reduce t he ris k of injury when the air­
ba gs inflate, the drive r and passenge rs
must always s it in an upr ight position,
m ust not lean against or place any part
of their body too close to the area whe re
the airbags a re located.
- Occupants who are unbe lted, out of posi­
tion or too close to the airbag can be se­ rious ly injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with g reat force in the blink of an eye
~page 109 .
&_ WARNING
-
A child in a rearwar d-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on th e front passe nger seat
will be ser ious ly injured a nd ca n be killed if
the front ai rb ag inflate s - even wi th an Ad-
vanced Ai rbag Sys tem.
Ill-

- comes on while driving.
I f an airbag system malfunct io n is dete cted ,
the ind icator light will firs t start flashing to
catch the driver 's attention and then stay on
continuously to serve as a constant reminder
to have the system inspected immed iately.
If a malfunction occurs tha t tur ns the fron t
ai rbag on the passenger side off, the
PA SSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght wi ll come on and stay
on wheneve r the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ioning
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 Adva nced Airbag System .
It is possible that the airbag will inflate
w hen it is not s upposed to, or w ill not in­
flate when it should.
- Have the airbag system inspected imme­
diately by your Aud i dealer .
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
Fig. 11 3 Section fr om the inst ru men t pa nel: PASS EN­
G ER AIR BAG O FF light
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light is located
i n the cen ter of the instrument panel
c:> fig. 113 .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will come
on and stay on to tell you when the front Ad ­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side h as been
turned off by t he e lectronic control u nit. Each
time you tu rn on the ign ition, the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OF F
light will flash for a few
seconds and:
A irba g sy stem 119
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-w ill stay on i f there is a small ch ild or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go out if the fron t passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat .
T he
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
com e on and sta y on
if t he 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 weight reg istered on the front passen ­
ger seat is equal to or less than the com­
bi ned weight of a typical 1 year-old restra in­
ed in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac­
ing infant restra ints listed in Federal Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd 208 wi th which the
Advanced Airbag System in you r veh icle was
certified.
If t he fron t passenger seat is not occupied,
the fro nt airbag will not deploy, and the
PAS­
SENGER AIR BAG O FF
light will stay on . Nev ­
er install a rearward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat
c:> page 109 , Child
res train ts on the front sea t-some important
things to know
and c:> page 129, Child Safe ty .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light come s
o n
when one of the cond itions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on continuously wheneve r the
ignition is on .
If the PASSENGER A IR BAG
OFF
light does not appear and not stay on all
the time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turn ing the ign ition
off and then turn ing it on again;
- remove and reinstall the ch ild restra int .
Make s ure that the ch ild restraint is proper ly
installed and that the safety belt for the
front passenge r seat has been correc tly
rou ted aro und t he chi ld restraint as

120 Airbag sys te m
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
c> page 13 7.
- make sure that things 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 bei ng used to tie the
child safety seat to t he front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is no t 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
doe s not come 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 ai rbag system inspect­
ed by you r A udi dealer immediate ly .
The PASSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light should
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
adult is sitt ing in a p rope r seating pos it ion on
the front passenger seat. If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds whi le driving, un ­
der these circumstances, make s ure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
c u shion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
c> page 92, Prop er occupant seating posi­
tions,
- th e ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door, - the sa
fety 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 fron t passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
li ght in the center of the instr ument panel,
the message PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
i n the i nstr ument cluster d isplay. This is to i n­
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot p rovide supplemental pro­
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, i t
means that there may be something
wrong with t he Advanced Airbag System.
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 inspected imme­
d iate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
will be serious 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.
-

-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan­ ces and the
PA SSE NGER AI R BAG 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 circ umstances, you
must install a forward-facing child re­
st raint on the front passenger seat, a l­
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 airb ag
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 inspected by your Aud i deal­
er before transporting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
(Di Tips
If the weight-sensing mat in the front pas­
senger seat detects an empty seat, the
front airbag on the pa ssenge r side will be
t urned off, and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
w ill stay on .
Airbag system 12 1
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are i nstalled at
many diffe rent p laces o n your Aud i. Insta llin g,
removing, servicing or repa iring a part in an
area of the vehicle 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
know to make sure that the effectiveness o f
the system wi ll not be impaired and that dis­
carded components do not cause injury or pol ­
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv ic ing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal in­
jury and death by preventing an a irbag
from deploying when needed or deploying
an a irbag unexpec tedly:
- Never cover, obst ruct, or change the
steer ing whee l horn pad or airbag cover
or the inst rument panel or mod ify them
in any w ay .
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up
holders or telephone mountings to the
surfaces covering the a irbag un its .
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one
mo istened with pla in water. Solvents or
cleaners could damage the airbag cover
or change the st iffness or strength of the
material so that the airbag cannot de­
ploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the a irbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instru­
ment panel, front seats or e lectr ica l sys­
tem (including the installation of audio
equ ipment, cellular telephones and CB
radios, etc.) must be performed by a
qualified technic ian who has the training
and specia l equipment necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your
author ized Audi dealer or qualified work-
shop.
~
•
•

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The physical principles o f what happens when
your ve hicle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
c::> page 101, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, the ir muscles and bones are no t
fully developed . In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bod ies are no t fully devel­
oped, they require restra int systems especial ­
l y designed for the ir size, weight, and body
structure . Many count ries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
l aws req uiring the use of approved ch ild re­
straint systems for in fants and small chi ldren.
I n a fronta l crash at a speed of 20-35 mph
(30-56 km/ h) the fo rces acting on a 13-po und
(6 kg) inf ant will be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds ( 120 kg) . Under these conditions,
only an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
C hi ld restra ints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective . Used improp ­
erly , they can increase the risk of ser ious in­
ju ry in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's i nstructions in order to be sure the seat is
right fo r you r ch ild 's s ize
c::> page 132, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
sea ts.
P lease be su re to read and heed all of
the impo rtan t informat io n a nd WAR NINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child rest raints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know abou t the Ad ­
vance d Airbags in yo ur vehicle and how they
wo rk when infants and children in child re ­
straints are o n the front passenger seat. Be ­
cause of the large amount of important infor -
Child Safet y 129
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
yo u to read the detai led information in this
owner 's man ua l about ai rbags and the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing ch ildren on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
ar e extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of you r passenge rs, especially in­
f an ts a nd small chi ld ren.
A WARNING
-
A ll vehicle occupants and especially chi l­
d ren must be restra ined properly w henev ­
er riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained or
improperly restra ined child could be in­
jured by str iking the interior or by being
e jected from the vehicle dur ing a sudden
maneuve r or impact. A n unrestra ined o r
improperly restr ained child is also at great­
e r r isk of inju ry or d eath thro ugh contact
wi th an inflat ing a irbag.
_& WARNING
C hildren on the front seat of any car even
wi th Advanced Airbag s can be ser io usly in­
j ur ed or even kil led when an a irba g in­
flates. A child in a rearwar d-fac ing ch ild
safety seat insta lled on t he front passen­
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smas h the child safety seat
a nd chi ld agai nst the bac krest , door or
roof.
- Never i nstall a rearward faci ng child
safety seat on the front passenger s eat
un less the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes o n and stays on. If the PAS·
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does no t
come on and st ay on, have the air bag
sys tem inspected immediately by your
Aud i dea le r.
•
•

130 Child Safety
8_ WARNING
If, in exceptional 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 for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
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 Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk " re­
quirements for 3- and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the airbag inflates. In addition , the system has been certified to comply with the "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, a child should al­
ways ride in the seat properly restrained for
its age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dan­
gerous place for a child to ride. The front seat
is not the safest place for a child in a forward­
facing child safety seat. It can be a very dan­
gerous place for an infant or a larger child in a
rearward-facing seat.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of child re­
straints and for the different models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child
restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the weight ranges of typical in­
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced Air­
bag System. When a child restraint is being
used on the front passenger seat with a .,..

typical 1 year-old chi ld, the Advanced Airbag
System compares the weig ht meas ured by the
weight sensing mat with t he informat ion stor­
ed in the electron ic control unit.
The electronic control unit a lso registers the
tension on the front passenger safety be lt.
The tens ion on the safety belt for the front
passenger seat will be different for an adult
who is properly using the safety belt as com­
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety be lt
for the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt. T he inp ut from this sen­
sor is then used with the we igh t to "decide",
whether there is a chi ld restraint with a typica l
1 year-old child o n the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off.
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been ce rtified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rds and has been certified by its manu­
facture r fo r u se wi th a n air bag. If in excep­
tional c ircu ms tances you m ust use it on the
front passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
i n formation on c hild safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed all of the app licable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing
mat inside the front passenger seat, that the
fro nt passenger airbag is tur ned off and that
the airbag status is a lways correctly signaled
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child restra ints
h ave been ava ilable over the years, new mod­
e ls are introduced regularly incorporating new
and improved designs a nd older models a re
t aken out of p rod uction. Child restrain ts are
not standardized . Ch ild restra ints o f the same
type typically have different weights and sizes
and diffe rent 'footprints,' the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a vehi­
cle seat. These differences make it virtually
Child Sa fet y 131
impossible to certify comp liance with the re ­
quirements for advanced airbags with eac h
and every child restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your veh icle.
Fo r th is reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle with the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208. These child re straints are:
Subpart A -Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Angel Guard Angel September 2S, 2007 R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ce ntury Smart Fit Decembe r 1, 1999
4S 43
Cosco Ar riva September 2S, 2007
22-013PAW and base
22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
E ven flo First Choice Decembe r 1, 1999
20 4
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Br itax Roundabout September 2S, 2007
E 9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
•
•

132 Child Saf ety
Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 2S, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 2S, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
2S4
Evenflo Generations September 2S, 2007
3S2xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 2S, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
_& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PA S­
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
wi ll hi t the child safety seat o r infant car­
rier with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roo f. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
@ Tips
The ch ild seats listed in categories A to C
have been statica lly tested by Aud i only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are respons ible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
.,. Always use the right ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
~page 134.
.,. Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufac turer's inst ruct ions on how to ro ute
the sa fety belt properly through the child
safety seat .
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
r=> page 137 .
.,. Push the ch ild safety seat down with you r
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
s o that t he seat canno t move fo rward o r
sideways more th an one inch
(2.5 cm).
Always remember : Even though you r vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
c hi ld shou ld always ride i n the seat properly
r estrained for its age and s ize.
_& WARNING ,..___
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat o r improperly in­
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal in jury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever rid ing i n a vehicle.
- An un rest rained or imp roperly restrain­
ed ch ild ca n be injured or killed by be­
ing t hrown agains t th e ins ide of the ve­
hicle or by being e jected from it during
a sud den mane uver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improper ly res train­
ed ch ild is at much greater risk of injury
or death by be ing struck by an inflating
airbag.