warning light AUDI TT ROADSTER 2017 Workshop Manual

Airbag syste m
of the rear -facing or forward-facing infant re­
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front a irbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy .
The
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light comes on
when the e lectron ic control un it detects a total
electrical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the
PASSEN GER AIR BA G OFF ~; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side has not been turned off by the control u nit and
can dep loy if t he con trol unit senses an impact
that meets the conditions stored in its memory.
If the tota l electrical capac itance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old, but less than the weigh t of a
small adu lt, the front airbag on the passenger
side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~ ; light does not come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if :
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passe nger seat
( r ega rdless of whether the child is in one of the
c hi ld se ats l isted
q page 220),
- a chi ld who has outg rown child restraints is on
t h e front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER A IR BA G OFF ~; light in the head­
line r will come on and stay on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder­
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk " deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through inte raction with the airbag.
" Low risk" deployment occu rs in those c rashes
t hat take place at lower dece le rations as defined
in the electronic control unit
q page 207.
Alway s rememb er: Please be su re to read the im­
portant information in the sections that follow
and be sure to heed all of t he WARNINGS.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of inj ury when an airbag in­
flates, a lways wear safety belts properly .
202
-If you are un restrained, leaning forward, sit­
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 196 .
A WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child seat instal ­
led on the front passenger seat will be seri­
ously injured and can be killed if the front air­
bag inflates -even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearwar d-fac ing ch ild re­
straint has been installed on the front pas ­
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran­
tee that dep loyment is impossib le in all con­
ceivab le situat ions that may happen du ring
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, doo r, or roof .
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does not
come on and stay on have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
I f, in ex ceptional ci rcums tances, you must in­
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing sea t
has been des igned and certified by its man ­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas­
senger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child restraint
up against or very nea r the instrument pan­
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad­
justment range and move it back to the

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0
" "' c:o
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air­
bag as possible, before insta lling the for­
ward-facing child restra int.
- lways make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i­
tioned.
-Always make sure that there is nothing on the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
c apacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag Sys tem tha t
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is occ upied by some ­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat . The p resence of addi­
t ional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked witho ut the object on the seat.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in yo ur vehicle has a lot
of
very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in it . These pa rts in cl ude the capacitive
passenger detection system, w iring, brackets,
and mo re. The control un it monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ign ition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunct ion in the one of the system
components is detected
c::> page 208 . Because
the fro nt passenger seat contains important
pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to preven t it from being damaged.
D amage to the seat may p revent the Advanced
Ai rbag System for the front passenger seat from
doi ng its job i n a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the follow ing :
- C rash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle accelerat ion/dece leration to
Airb ag sys tem
provide information to the Advanced A irbag
System about the severity of the cras h.
- An elect ronic contro l unit, with integrated
cras h sensors for front and side impacts . The
control un it "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information rece ived from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de­
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator for the
driver inside the steeri ng wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
-A capacit ive passenger detection system under­
neath the front passenger seat
cover. This sys­
tem measures the e lectr ica l capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the elect ronic contro l
un it to reg ulate dep loyment of the front Ad­
vanced Airbag on the p assenger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light
El in the inst rument cl uste r.
- A sensor in each front seat registe rs the d is­
t ance betwee n the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r ins trumen t pa nel. The infor­
mat ion registered is sent con tinuous ly to the
electronic contro l unit to regu late dep loyment
of the front Advanced Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; lig ht comes
on and stays on in the headliner
c::> poge 208,
fig. 166 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched or not and
transmits this information to t he electronic
cont rol un it .
A WARNING
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre­
vent the front airbag from working prope rly.
- Imp roper repair or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p revent the
Advanced Airbag Sys tem from f unct ion ing
p roper ly. ...,
203

Airbag syste m
-Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qua lified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat . The capacitive pas­
senger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc­
tured.
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob­
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob­
jects can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capac itive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro­
vided to the airbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger sea t could be dam­
aged, preven ting them and the airbag sys­
tem from working properly.
- Never place seat covers o r rep lacemen t up ­
holstery that have not been spec ifically ap­
proved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air­
bag System from recogn izing child re­
straints or occupants on the front passenge r
seat and prevent the side airbag in the seat
backrest from dep loying proper ly.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth­
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any ch ild restraint system on
this seat.
- Never use cush ions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The add itiona l layers prevent the capacitive
passenge r detection system from accurate ly
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe­
ty seat and/or the pe rson on the seat and
t hu s keep the Advanced Airbag System from
wor king p roperly.
- Never place o r use any electrical device
(s uch as a laptop, CD player, elec tronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat he ater
204
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
dev ices can influence the capac itance regis­
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect informat ion is pro­
vided to the airbag cont ro l unit.
- If you must use a child restra int on the front
passenger seat and the child restra int man­
ufacturer's instructions requ ire t he use of a
towel, foam c ushion or someth ing else to
proper ly posit ion the child restra int, make
certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
,; ; light comes on and stays on whenever
the child restraint is insta lled on the front
passenger seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;, light
does not come on and stay on, have the air­ bag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im­mediately .
- If liq uid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work­
ing proper ly and may, for instance, deacti­
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;,
light will come on and stay on together w ith
t he airbag indica to r li gh t
min the instru­
ment cluster.
'
- I f liq uid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, th is may also keep the airbag sys­
tem from working p roperly and cause the
passenger fronta l airbag to be enabled
(turned on), even though there is a properly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger frontal airbag is turned o n,
the
PASSENGER AIR B AG OFF ,;, light light
w ill go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the protection offered by the .,,.

CD
CD
.... N
" N ...... 0 r--. V, co
front three-point safety belts with pretensioners
and load limiters to help reduce the risk of in jury
in a wide range of accident and crash situations .
Be sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the act ivat ion of the safety belt pretensioners de­
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
un it . Crash severity depends on speed and decel ­
eration as wel l as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the c rash .
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag w ill be
turned off if the electrical capac itance measured
by the capacit ive passenger detection system on
the fro nt passenger seat is less than the amount
p rogr ammed in the elect ronic control uni t. The
front passenger fronta l airbag will also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys­
tem under Federal Motor Veh icle Safety Standard
208. The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF,;; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been turned off
Q page 208.
& WARNING
T o red uce the risk of i njury when an a irbag in­
flates, a lways wear safety belts proper ly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rw ar d, s it­
t ing s idew ays or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
your risk of i nju ry is much higher.
- Yo u w ill also re ceive se rious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
~page 196.
Airb ag sys tem
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig. 165 I nflated fro nt ai rbags
Safety be lts are impo rtan t to he lp keep front
seat oc cupants in the proper seated position so
that airbags can unfo ld properly and prov ide s up­
pleme nta l protection i n a fronta l co llision .
The front airbags are designed to provide addi­
t iona l protec tion fo r the chest and face of the
driver and the fron t seat passenger whe n:
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that t he oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the a irbag .
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 dangerous pro ­
ject iles, and be pushed into you if the a irbag i n­
flates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle . This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lub rica te t he a irbags as they deploy.
It
cou ld irritate skin.
It is important to remembe r that wh ile the sup ­
pleme nta l airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serio us inj uries, othe r injuries,
for example swelling, bru is ing and minor abra­
s ions, can also happen when a irbags inflate . Air­
bags do not prote ct the arms or the lower p arts
of the body. Front airbags supp lement the three
point safety belts on ly in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle dece leration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
II>
205

Airbag syste m
Front airbag s will not deploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash oc -
curs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in rollovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by the
airbag system is less than the minimum thresh­
old needed for airbag deployment as registered
by the electronic contro l unit.
Th e front p asse nger airb ag w ill also not
depl oy:
- when the front passenger seat is not occupied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detect ion system for
the front passenger seat indicates that the pas­
senger side frontal airbag must be switched off
by the electronic contro l unit (the
PASSENGER
AIR B AG OFF ~;
light~ page 208 and how
they work comes on and stays on) .
A WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can increase the
risk of serious injury in crashes.
- To reduce the risk of injury when the airbags inflate, the driver and passengers must al­
ways sit in an upright position, must not
lean against or place any part of their body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the a irbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds with great
force in the blin k of an eye~
page 197.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing chi ld seat insta l­
led on the front passenger seat will be ser i­
ously inju red and can be killed if the front air­
bag inf lates - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w il l hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the chi ld seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
206
-
- Never install a rearward facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PAS SEN GER AIR BA G OFF ~; light comes
on and stays on . If the
PA SSE NGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light does not come on and stay
on, the inflat ing airbag will hit the chi ld
safety seat or infant carrie r with great force
and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the bac krest, door or roof.
Have the airbag system inspected immedi­
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in­
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer­
ing with the way the airbag unfolds or by be­
ing pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could
move into the area of the front airbags dur­
ing braking or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
cause serious persona l injury if the airbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessories o r other
objects (such as cup holders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy or bulky objects) on
the doo rs, ove r or near the area ma rked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru ­
ment panel, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects
could cause injury in a crash, especially
when the a irbags inf late.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side a irbag or the front air­
bag during brak ing or in a sudden maneu­
ver . Objects near the airbags can become
projecti les and cause injury, part icularly
when the seat is reclined.
- Never p lace or t ransport objects on the
-
front passenger sea t. Objects on the front
p assenger sea t could ca use the capaci tive
sensor in the seat to signal to ai rbag system
that the seat is occ upied by a person when it ..,

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0
" "' c:o
in fact is not, or that the person on the seat
is heavier than he or she actually is. The
change in electric capacitance because of
such objects can cause the passenger front
airbag to be turned on when it should be
off, or can cause the a irbag to work in a way
that is diffe rent from the way it would have
wor ked witho ut objects on the seat.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signa l that it is occupied by some­
one who is heavier than the person actua lly
sitting on the seat. The presence of an ob­
ject could cause the passenger front a irbag
to be t urned on when it should be off, or
cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a way that
is d ifferent from the way it wou ld have
wor ked witho ut the ob je ct on the seat.
A WARNING
The fine dust create d when air bags deploy can
cause breathing problems for peop le w ith a
history of asthma or other breathing condi­
tions .
- T o reduce the risk of breathing problems,
those with asthma or other respiratory con ­
ditions should get fresh air right away by
gett ing out of the veh icle or opening w in­
dows o r doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de­
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water.
Airb ag sys tem
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the
El light and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF "1; ON @ light.
T he Advanced A irbag System as well as the side
airbags with e jection m itigation features (i nclud­
i ng the e lectron ic cont rol unit, senso rs and sys­
tem wiring) are all monito red contin uous ly to
make sure that they are functioning properly
whenever the ignition is on. Every t ime you turn
on the ignition, the a irbag system indicator light
El w ill come on for a few seconds (function
check).
The system mu st be in spected wh en the
i ndicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignition is switched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
sw itched on the ignition, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system mal func tion is detected, the
indicator light will come on to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi­
ately.
If a ma lfunction occurs that turns the front air ­
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG O FF
"1 ; light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
An a irbag system that is not functioning prop­
erly cannot prov ide supplemental protect ion
i n a fronta l crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light
~page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer.
It is possib le that
the airbag will inflate when i t is not sup­
posed to, or w ill not inf late w hen it should.
207

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0
" "' c:o
met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain that the
P A SSENGER AIR BAG OFF '-1;
light stays on continuously whenever the ignition
is on. If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF '-1; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ign ition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restraint. Make sure that the child restraint is properly instal­led and that the safety belt for the front pas­
senger seat has been correctly routed through
the child restraint as descr ibed in the child re­
straint manufacturer's i nstructions;
- make sure that the convertible locki ng retrac­
tor on the safety be lt for the front passenger
seat has bee n activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electrical device (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat hea ter for child seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12•volt socket or
the cigarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro ­
fitted or otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob­
structed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towel) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cush ion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light st ill
doe s not come on ...
If the PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF '-1; light sti ll
does not come on and does not stay on continu­
ously (when the ignition is sw itched on),
- take the child restraint off t he front passenger
seat and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer immed iate ly.
Th e PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
should NOT come on ...
The PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~ ; light should
NOT come on when the ign ition is on and an
Airb ag sys tem
adult is sitting in a proper seating pos ition on the
front passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF~;
light comes on and stays on whi le
driv ing, under these c ircumstances, make sure
that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is proper­
ly seated on the center of the seat cushion w ith
his or her back up against the backrest and the backrest is not reclined,
- the adult is not taking we ight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support ing
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web­
b ing ,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or cush­
ions or other things (such as blankets) on the
front passenger seat that might cause the ca­ pacitive passenge r detection system to miscal­
culate e lectr ica l capaci ta nce.
' Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
--- If the stat us of the Advanced Airbag System
has changed while the vehicle is moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '-1; ON @ light
blin ks for about 5 seconds to cat ch the driv­
er 's attent ion . If this happens, a lways stop
as soon as it is sa fe to do so and check the
steps described above .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not go off when an adult who is not
very small is sitting on the front passenger
seat after tak ing the steps described above,
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer before t ransporting
anyone on the front passenger seat .
A WARNING ....._
An airbag system that is not functioning prop­
e rly cannot prov ide supplemental protect io n
i n a fronta l crash.
- If the ai rbag ind icator light
<=:> page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
209

Airbag syste m
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup­
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restra int, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re­
straint that has not been properly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN ­
G ER AIR BAG OFF,;;
light does not appear
and stay on, have the airbag system inspect­
ed by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
Make s ure that the PASSENGER AI R BAG
OFF ,;;
light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
If the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does
not go out when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat afte r taking the steps
described above, have the airbag system in­
spected by your Audi dealer before transport­
ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BA G OFF ~;
light will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent places on your Aud i. Instal ling, remov-
210
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from work ing properly
i n a coll is ion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce­
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de­
p loying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer­
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in­
strumen t panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cup ho lde rs
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov­
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn pad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry doth or one mois­
tened w ith plain water. Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the st iffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect proper ly.
- Never repair, ad just, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, inst rument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system (in­
cluding the installation of audio equ ipment,
cellular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be perfo rmed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and spec ial equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend tha t you see you r au­
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence:

Airbag system
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supplemen­
tal protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 167 Driver's knee airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument panel
underneath the steering wheel¢
fig. 167, the
airbag for the passenger is at about the same
height in the instrument panel underneath the
glove compartment.
The knee airbag offers additional protection to
the driver's and passenger's knees and upper and
lower thigh areas and supplements the protec­
tion provided by the safety belts.
If the front airbags deploy, the knee airbags also
deploy in frontal collisions when the deployment
threshold stored in the control unit is met
¢ page 205, More important things to know
about front airbags.
In addition to their normal safety function, safe­
ty belts help keep the driver or front passenger in
position in a frontal collision so that the airbags
can prov ide supplemental protection.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle. Always re­
member that the airbag system can only help to
protect you if you are wearing your safety belt
and wearing it properly . This is why you should
always wear your safety belt, not just because
the law requires you to do so ¢
page 189, Gener­
al notes.
212
Remember too, airbags will deploy on ly once and
on ly in certain kinds of accidents -your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
accidents in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy or when they have already deployed, for
example when your vehicle strikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
not a substitute for the safety belt . The airbag
system works most effectively when used with
the safety belts. Therefore, always wear your
safety belts correctly.
It is important to remember that while the sup­
plemental knee airbag system is designed to re­
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising and minor
abras ions and friction burns can also occur when
an airbag inflates.
The knee airbag system basically consists of:
-The electronic control module
- Two inflatable airbags (airbag and gas genera-
tor), one for the driver and one for the front
passenger
- The airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter
The knee airbag system will not deploy:
-when the ignition is switched off
- in frontal collisions when the decelerat ion
measured by the control unit is too low
- in side collisions
- in rear-end co llisions
- in rollovers
- in the event of a system malfunction (warning/
ind icator light is on) ¢
page 14 .
&_ WARNING
-Safety belts and the airbag system can only
provide protection when occupants are in
the proper seating position ¢
page 205.
-If the airbag ind icator light¢ page 14
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer.
It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup ­
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.

Airbag system
prevent proper deployment of the airbag.
Small objects can be thrown through the
vehicle if the airbag deploys and injure you
or your passenger .
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep scratch­
es or other damage in the area of the instru­
ment panel where the knee airbags are lo­
cated.
- If children a re incorrect ly seated, their risk
of injury increases in a collision
c::> page 218, Child safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained occupants.
F ig. 169 Side airbag locat ion in t he drive r's seat
The side airbags are located in the sides of the
front seat backrests
c::> fig. 169 facing the doors .
They are identified by the word "AIRBAG".
The side airbags installed for the front seating
positions have been designed and certified to
help reduce the risk of injury that can be caused
by airbags when they inflate, particularly when
the occupant sitting next to it is not seated prop­
erly. The side airbag for the front passenger seat
can be used with properly installed child re­
straints. Please be sure to read the important in­
formation and warnings whenever using a child
restraint in a vehicle: Safety belts
c::> page 189,
Airbag system c::>page 196, Child safety
c::> page 218 .
The side airbag system basically consists of:
- the electronic control modu le and external side
impact sensors
214
- the two side airbags located in the sides of the
front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument clus-
ter.
The airbag system is mon itored electron ical ly to
make certain that it is functioni ng p roperly at all
times. Each time you turn on the ignition, the air­
bag system indicator light will come on for a few
seconds (self diagnostics) .
The side airbag system supplements the safety
belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury to
the driver's and front passenger's upper torso
and head on the side of the vehicle that is struck
in a side collision. The airbag deploys in side im­
pacts and only when the vehicle acceleration reg­
istered by the control unit is high enough. If this
rate is below the reference value programmed in­
to the control unit, the side airbags will not be
trigge red, even though the car may be badly
damaged as a result of the collision .
It is not pos­
sible to define an airbag triggering range that
will cover every possible angle of impact, since
the circumstances will vary conside rably between
one collision and another. Important factors in­
clude, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of
the impacting object, the angle of impact, vehicle
speed, etc.
c::> page 216, Important safety in­
structions on the side airbag system .
Aside from their normal safety function, safety
belts work to help keep the driver or front pas­
senger in position in the event of a side collision
so that the side airbags can provide protect ion.
The airbag system is
not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overall occu­
pant restraint system in your vehicle . Always re­
member that the side airbag system can only
help to protect you if you are wear ing your safety
belt and wear ing it properly. This is another rea­
son why you sho uld always wear your safety
belts, not just because the law requires you to do
so
c::> page 189, General notes.
It is impo rtant to remember that while the sup­
plemental side airbag system is desig ned to re­
duce the likelihood of ser ious injuries, other inju­
ries, for example, swelling, bruising , friction
burns and minor abrasions can also be associated ..,.