SA
FETY FIRST
Front airbag
The airbag for the driver is located in the
steering wheel hub and is marked "AIR
BAG." See illustration above.
The airbag for the front passenger's seat is
located in the instrument panel above the
glove compartment and is also marked with
"AIRBAG." See right illustration.
26 It
is very important to remember that front
airbags only supplement the three point
safety belts in some frontal accidents in
which the vehicle deceleration is high
enough to activate the airbags.
Front airbags are not activated ...
• if the ignition is switched off
• in side collisions
• in rear-end collisions
• in roiJovers Front
airbags may not inflate in certain fron
tal collisions. Vehicle damage, repair costs
or even the lack of vehicle damage is not
necessarily an indication of proper airbag
operation.
The front airbags can only provide additional
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 occupant is properly seated as far as
possible from the airbag
• and the head restraints have been prop
erly adjusted.
Airbags do not protect the lower part of the
body.
Safety belts are important to help keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated posi
tion so that airbags can unfold properly and
provide added protection as intended.
For more details see next pages.
--------------------------SAFETY FIRST
Importance
of proper seating
position
In a collision airbags must inflate within a
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags could injure you
if you are not seated properly. Therefore in
order to help the airbag to do its job, it is im
portant, both as a driver and as a passenger
to sit properly at all times. By keeping room
between your body and the front of the pas
senger compartment, the airbag can inflate
fully and completely and provide supple
mental protection in certain frontal colli
sions. See page 76 for information on the
adjustment of the front seats and also
"Front seats" page 78, for details on the op
eration of the seat adjustment controls. It's
especially importantthat children be proper
ly restrained. See chapter "Child safety",
page 44. �W
ARNING
• Sitting too close to the stee ring
wheel or instrument panel will de
crease the effe ctiveness of the air
bags and will increase the risk of
personal injury in an accident.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of
position in any way. your risk of in
jury is much higher. You will also
receive serious or fatal injuries
from the airbag if you are up
against it or too close to it when it
inflates.
• To reduce the risk of injury
when an alrbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly.
See "How to wear the safety belts
properly" on page 18. '4
WARNING continued
• Children age 12 or younger
should always ride in the rear seat.
If children are not properly re
strained, they may be severely in
jured or killed when an airbag
inflates. Never let children ride un
restr ained or improperly re
strained in the vehicle.
• Adjust the front seats properly.
- Never ride with the backrest re-
clined.
- Always sit as far as possible
from the the stee ring wheel or
the instrument panel.
Always heed all WA RNINGS
on next page.
29
SAFETY FIRST--------------------------
�
WARNING continued
- Always sit upright with your
back against the backrest of
your seat.
. 30 Never
place your feet on the in
strument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the
floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the
legs and hips if the airbag in
flates. BBN-163
There is a lot that you and your passengers
can do to help the individual safety features
installed in your Audi work together as a
system. Adjusting
the driver's seat
For detailed steps for adjusting the driver's
seat please see "Front Seats" on page 76.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat as follows:
- adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so
that you can easily push the pedals all the
way while keeping your knee slightly
bent.
- adjust the seatback so that when you sit
with your back against the seatback, you
can still grasp the top of the steering
wheel.
adjust the steering wheel -see chapter
"Adjustable steering column" page 98.
- the distance from the center of your
breastbone to the center of the airbag
cover on the steering wheel must be at
least 1 0 inches (25 em) or more. See il
lustration .
-----------------------------------------------------SAFETY RRST
�W ARNING
• Never sit closer than 10 inches
(25 em) to the stee ring wheel.
• If you cannot sit more than
10 inches (25 em) from the steer
ing wheel, we recommend that
you investigate whether adaptive
equipment may be available to
help you reach the pedals and in
crease your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
Adjusting the steering wheel
For detailed steps for adjusting the steering
wheel please see "Adjustable steering col
umn" page 98.
Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face. The steer ing
wheel should be adjusted so that you can
hold the outer rim of the steering wheel
comfortably with your hands at the 3 o'clock
and 9 o'clock positions. �W
ARNING
• Pointing the steering wheel to
ward your face decreases the abil
ity of the supplementa l driver's air
bag to protect you in an accident.
• Holding the steering wheel the
wrong way can cause serious inju
ries to the hands, arms and head if
the driver's airbag inflates.
• Never hold the steering wheel at
the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions in
side the steering wheel rim or on
the steering wheel hub.
Adjusting the passenger's seat
For detailed steps for adjusting the pas
senger's seat please see "Front Seats" on
page 76.
We recommend that you adjust the passen
ger's seat as follows:
- backrest upright (never reclined)
place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat adjust
the passenger's seat as far as pos
sible to the rear of the fore and aft adjust-
1)1ent range.
�W ARNING
• Always keep both feet on the
floor in front of the seat.
• Never place your feet on the in
strument panel or on the seat. If
the airbag inflates and your feet
are on the instrument panel or on
the seat, your could receive seri
ous personal injuries.
Some other important points to
know
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 projectiles and be pushed into
you if the airbag inflates.
Always head all WARNINGS
on next page.
31
SAF
ETY RRST---------------------------------------------------
. � WARNING
• Objects between you and the
airbag can increase the risk of in
jury in an accident by interfering
with the way the airbag unfolds or
by being pushed into you as the
airbag inflates.
• Never hold things in your hands
or on your lap when the vehicle is
in use.
• Never place or attach accesso
ries or other objects (such as cup
holders, telephone brackets or
even large and bulky objects) on
the doors, over or near the area
marked ,. Airbag" on the steering
wheel, instrument panel, seat
backrests or between those areas
and yourself. These objects could
cause injury in a crash especially
when the airbags inflate.
32 �,
WARNING continued
• Never transport items on or in
the area of the front passenger
seat. Objects could move into the
area of the front alrbags during
braking or other sudden maneuver
and become dangerous projectiles
that can cause serious personal in
jury if the airbags inflate.
• Never recline the front passen
ger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area
of the side airbags or the front air
bag during braking or sudden ma
neuver. Objects near the airbags
can become projectiles and cause
injury particularly when the seat is
reclined. Child
restraints on the front seat -
important things to know
All children, especially 12 years old and
younger should always ride in the back seat
properly restrained for their age and size.
The ai rbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for
a child to ride. The front seat is not the saf
est place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat. It is a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing
seat.
• Never install rear-facing child
seats or infant carriers on the front
passenger seat. A child will be se
riously injured and can be killed
when the passenger airbag in
flates.
M
WARNING continued
• 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 arm rest, or door.
• Always install rear-fac ing child
seats or infant carriers on the rear
seat.
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 airbag could
greatly reduce the effectiveness of the child
restraint and even seriously injure the child
during inflation. For
this reason, and because children are
generally better protected -when properly
restrained according to their age and size
in a rear seating position, we strongly rec
ommend that children always sit in the back
seat. See "Child Safety" on page 44.
�W ARNING
Forward-fa cing
child seats
installed on the front passenger's
seat may interfere with the deploy
ment of the airbag and cause seri
ous injury to the child. Install for
ward-fa cing child seats on the rear
seat. SA
FETY FIRST
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child seat on the
front seat, the child's safety and well-being
require that the following special precau
tions be taken:
�W ARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances,
you must install a forward-f acing
child restraint on the front passen
ger's seat:
make sure the forward-fa cing
seat has been designed and cer
tified by its man ufacturer for
usa on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
Always follow the manuf actur
er's instructions provided with
the child seat or carrier.
Always heed all WA RNINGS
on next page.
33
SAFETYRRST-----------------------------------------------------
'4 WARNING continued
- Always move the passenger
seat into its rearmost position,
as far away from the airbag as
possible before installing the
child restraint. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- For more important information
on the use of child restraints in
your Audl, see ""child seats"",
page 44.
34 Supplemental
side airbags
The supplemental aide airbags are in
the backrest padding for the front and outer
rear* seats (see illustration).
The outboard side of each front backrest
and the location of the airbags in the back
rest are marked with the word "AIRBAG."
The supplemental side airbaga can
help to reduce the risk of injury to the upper
torso on that side of the car that is struck in
a side collision. �W
ARNING
To be sure the side airbags can
deploy in a side impact:
• Never place protective seat cov
ers or replacement upholstery
over the front seatbacks that have
not been specifically approved by
Audi. Since the side airbaga
deploy out of the side of the seat
back, they would not be able to
deploy and protect properly.
• Do not use additional seat cush
ions that cover or interfere with
the areas where the side airbags
inflate.
• Damage to the original seat cov
ers or to the seam in the area of the
side airbag module must be re
paired immediately by an autho
rized Audi Dealer.
-------------------------------------------------SAFETY RRST
'4 WARNING continued
• Any work on the airbag system.
such as removing/insta lling, re
pairing . or any work on the steer
ing wheel. instrument panel. front
seats or electrical system (Includ
ing the installation of audio equip
ment. mobile telephones and CB
radios. etc.) must be performed by
a qualified technician who has the
. training and special equipment
necessary. Improper handling may
result in injury.
• For any work on the airbag sys
tem. we strongly recommend that
you see your Audi Dealer.
• The alrbag system can be acti
vated only once. After an alrbag
has inflated. it must be replaced. Please
be sure that this manual al
ways remains with your Audi when
ever you lend your vehicle to
another person or if you sell it so
that this and other important infor
mation will always be available to
the driver and passengers.
43