AUDI TT ROADSTER 2019 Owners Manual
Manufacturer: AUDI, Model Year: 2019, Model line: TT ROADSTER, Model: AUDI TT ROADSTER 2019Pages: 304, PDF Size: 80.77 MB
Page 191 of 304
8S8012721BA
Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
area e eo MIT a a Lee)
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop-
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen-
gers, before driving off, always:
> Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly > page 178,
> Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
=> page 179,
> Wear safety belts properly > page 184,
> Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children > page 210.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup-
plemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper-
ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas-
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions > page 178, Correct
passenger seating positions. For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
=> page 46.
It's especially important that children are proper-
ly restrained > page 210.
There is a lot that the driver and the passenger
can and must do to help the individual safety fea-
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad-
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au-
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov-
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im-
mediately after deployment so that the front oc-
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move-
ment. Together they help to prevent the driver
and passenger from hitting parts of the inside
the vehicle while reducing the forces acting on
the occupant during the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head and
upper body in the crash. Airbags do not protect
the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The triggering of the airbag system de-
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con-
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi-
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi-
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another, it is not possi-
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will >
189
Page 192 of 304
Airbag system
also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in roll-
overs.
Always remember: Airbags will deploy only once,
and only in certain kinds of collisions. Your safety
belts are always there to offer protection in those
situations 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 vehicle after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supplementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
=> page 182.
— Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
— Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre-
vent serious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
ZA WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in-
strument panel will decrease the effective-
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
— Never sit closer than 10 in (25 cm) to the
steering wheel or instrument panel.
— If you cannot sit more than 10 in (25 cm)
from the steering wheel, investigate wheth-
er adaptive equipment may be available to
held you reach the pedals and increase your
seating distance from the steering wheel.
— If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit-
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
— You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
— To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
=> page 185, Safety belts.
— If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an
airbag inflates.
— Never let children ride unrestrained or im-
properly restrained in the vehicle. Adjust the
front seats properly.
— Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
=>page 178.
ZA WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
— Use only original equipment airbags ap-
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness ina crash.
— Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
190
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
> Be sure to read the important information and
head the WARNINGS for important details
about children and Advanced Airbags
=> page 210.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous 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 dangerous place for an infant or a child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applica-
ble at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
According to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for “suppression” for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for “low risk de-
ployment” for children aged 3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard).
Page 193 of 304
8S8012721BA
Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air-
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF #¥; ON ® light will come on
for a few seconds and:
— PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #¥; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied,
— PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3; will come on if
the electrical capacitance measured by the ca-
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equals the combined ca-
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward-
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad-
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi-
fied. For a listing of the child restraints that
were used to certify your vehicle's compliance
with the U.S. Safety Standard = page 212.
— PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3; will come on if
there is a small child or child restraint on the
front passenger seat,
— PASSENGER AIR BAG ON @ will go off if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
registered by the capacitive passenger detec-
tion system > page 200, Monitoring the Ad-
vanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3%; light comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in-
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward-
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve-
hicle Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad-
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certi-
fied.
If the total electrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old child but less than the weight
of a small adult, the front airbag on the passen-
ger side can deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF 3%; light does not come on).
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor-
ed in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
—asmall child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (re-
gardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed > page 212), or
—a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; light comes on in
the headliner and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the “low
risk” deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in-
jury through interaction with the airbag. “Low
risk” deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control unit > page 200, PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF $; ON ® light.
Always remember, a child seat or infant carrier
installed on the front seat may be struck and
knocked out of position by the rapidly inflating
passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. The air-
bag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of the
child restraint and even seriously injure the child
during inflation.
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
System.
— The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
— Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger's seat may interfere with
the deployment of the airbag and cause seri-
ous personal injury to the child.
191
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Airbag system
ZA WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in-
stall 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 manu-
facturer 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 near the instrument pan-
el.
— Always move the front passenger seat to the
highest position in the up and down adjust-
ment range and move it back to the rear-
most position in the seat's fore and aft ad-
justment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible, before installing the forward-
facing child restraint.
— Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi-
tioned.
— Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF 7; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
— Improper installation of child restraints can
reduce their effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any protection.
— An improperly installed child restraint can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
seriously
injure or even kill the child - even
with an Advanced Airbag System.
— Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child seat or
carrier.
— Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some-
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi-
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work ina
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the seat.
ZA WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3; light
will be displayed whenever a child restraint is
installed on the front passenger seat and the
ignition is switched on.
— If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light
does not stay on, perform the checks descri-
bed > page 200, Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System.
— Have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer immediately.
— Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal-
ling child restraints.
ZA WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in-
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re-
straint on the front passenger's seat:
192
Page 195 of 304
8S58012721BA
Airbag system
Front airbags
pyre al eee mice a TLeey-le (4
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu-
pants.
= x 2
z 6
BFV-0063
iff i
Fig. 156 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru-
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an “Advanced Air-
bag System” in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub > fig. 155 and the airbag for the front pas-
senger is in the instrument panel © fig. 156. The
general location of the airbags is marked “AIR-
BAG”.
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS - they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
ZA\ WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
— Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
— Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
— Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
— Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po-
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in-
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
— Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any-
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
ZA\ 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 and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
— Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
— Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag can
become projectiles when the airbag deploys
and cause serious personal injury.
— Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
— Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach them to the doors or the wind-
shield; never place them over or near or at-
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG“ on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
193
Page 196 of 304
Airbag system
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
— Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in-
jury in a collision, especially when the air-
bags inflate.
ZA\ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe-
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be-
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
— Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un-
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
— The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the “Low risk” option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
— For its own safety, a child should always ride
properly restrained for its age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and
upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in-
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
194
belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re-
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe-
ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why you
and
your passengers must always be properly re-
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the “low risk” require-
ments for 3 and 6 year-old children on the pas-
senger side and very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend-
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter-
action with the front 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 “suppression” requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re-
straints that are listed in the Standard
= page 212, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
“Suppression” requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
—a child up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear-
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi-
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
=>page 212,
— When a person is detected on the front passen-
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re-
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy.
Page 197 of 304
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Airbag system
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a total
electrical capacitance on the front passenger seat
that requires the front airbag to be turned off. If
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 3%; light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the control unit and
can deploy if the control unit senses an impact
that meets the conditions stored in its memory.
If the total electrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typical 1 year-old, but less than the weight of a
small adult, 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:
—asmall child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (re-
gardless of whether the child is in one of the
child seats listed > page 212),
—a child who has outgrown child restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light in the head-
liner will come on and stay on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the “low
risk” deployment criteria to help reduce the risk
of injury through interaction with the airbag.
“Low risk” deployment occurs in those crashes
that take place at lower decelerations as defined
in the electronic control unit > page 200.
Always remember: Please be sure to read the im-
portant information in the sections that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag > page 189.
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
System.
— Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
airbag when a rearward-facing child re-
straint has been installed on the front pas-
senger seat, nobody can absolutely guaran-
tee that deployment is impossible in all con-
ceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
— The inflating airbag will hit the child seat or
infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against the
backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
— Ifyou must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be-
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF %; light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
ZA WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in-
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
— If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit-
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
— You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
ZA WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in-
stall 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 manu-
facturer 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 near the instrument pan-
el.
— Always move the front passenger seat to the
highest position in the up and down adjust-
ment range and move it back to the rear-
most position in the seat's fore and aft ad-
justment range, as far away from the airbag
as possible, before installing the forward-
facing child restraint.
195
Page 198 of 304
Airbag system
— Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi-
tioned.
— Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the
seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some-
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi-
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work ina
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the seat.
— Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF 7%; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
PET ew elem me eae
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected > page 200. Because the
front passenger seat contains important parts of
the Advanced Airbag System, you must take care
to prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem for the front passenger seat from doing its
job ina crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
— Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
— An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
196
control unit “decides” whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also “de-
cides” whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
— An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
— An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
— A capacitive passenger detection system under-
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys-
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad-
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
— An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light Ea in the instrument cluster.
—Asensor in each front seat registers the dis-
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor-
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
— The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #%; light comes
on and stays on in the headliner > page 200,
fig. 158 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
—Asensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic
control unit.
ZA WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can pre-
vent the front airbag from working properly.
— Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning
properly.
— Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
— Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle. >
Page 199 of 304
8S8012721BA
Airbag system
— Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger Seat.
— Never disassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect wires from it.
— Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
put them on the seat. The capacitive passen-
ger detection mat in the front passenger
seat will not function properly if it is punc-
tured.
— Never carry things on your lap or carry ob-
jects on the front passenger seat. Such ob-
jects can
influence the capacitance regis-
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro-
vided to the airbag control unit.
— Never store items under the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam-
aged, preventing them and the airbag sys-
tem from working properly.
— Never place seat covers or replacement up-
holstery that have not been specifically ap-
proved by Audi on the front seats.
— Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Airbag
System from recognizing child restraints or
occupants on the front passenger seat and
prevent the side airbag in the seat backrest
from deploying properly.
— If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth-
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
— Never use cushions, pillows, blankets, or
similar items on the front passenger seat.
The additional layers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capacitance of the child safe-
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working properly.
— Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket. Such
devices can influence the capacitance regis-
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro-
vided to the airbag control unit.
— If you must use a child restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man-
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to
properly position the child restraint, make
certain that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
#; light comes on and stays on whenever
the child restraint is installed 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.
ZA WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im-
mediately.
— If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work-
ing properly 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 with
the airbag indicator light ka in the instru-
ment cluster.
— If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not
soaked in, this may also keep the airbag sys-
tem from working properly and cause the
passenger frontal 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 on,
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; light will
turn off.
How the Advanced Airbag System
oYpa) Ma Cel (Laas
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags supplement the protection offered by the
front
three-point safety belts to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and crash
situations. Be sure to read the important infor-
mation about safety and heed the WARNINGS in
this chapter.
197
>
Page 200 of 304
Airbag system
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de-
pend on the deceleration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel-
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety belt
use,
the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electronic control unit. The
front passenger frontal 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 Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #; light
comes on and stays on to tell you when the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenger side
has been turned off > page 200.
Z\ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag in-
flates, always wear safety belts properly.
— If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sit-
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of injury is much higher.
— You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag > page 189.
More important things to know about front
airbags
g
e
z &
Fig. 157 Inflated front airbags
198
Safety belts are important to help keep front seat
occupants in the proper seated position so that
airbags can unfold properly and provide supple-
mental protection in a frontal collision.
The front airbags are designed to provide addi-
tional protection for the chest and face of the
driver and the front seat passenger when:
— safety belts are worn properly,
— the seats have been positioned so that the oc-
cupant is properly seated as far as possible
from the airbag.
Because airbags inflate in the blink of an eye with
great force, things you have on your lap or have
placed on the seat could become dangerous pro-
jectiles, and be pushed into you if the airbag in-
flates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is released.
This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle. This dust is made up mostly of a powder
used to lubricate the airbags as they deploy. It
could irritate skin.
It is important to remember that while the sup-
plemental airbag system is designed to reduce
the likelihood of serious injuries, other injuries,
for example swelling, bruising and minor abra-
sions, can also happen when airbags inflate. Air-
bags do not protect the arms or the lower parts
of the body. Front airbags supplement the three
point safety belts only in some frontal collisions
in which the vehicle deceleration is high enough
to deploy the airbags.
Front airbags will not deploy:
— if the ignition is switched off when a crash oc-
curs,
— in side 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 control unit.
The front passenger airbag will also not
deploy:
—when the front passenger seat is not occupied, >