2008 AUDI A4 AVANT Owners Manual

/b, WARNING (continued)
sure the belt lies flat and snug=> fig. 173. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
• A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting
its position on your body from the strong bones to more vulner­
able, soft tissue and cause serious injury.
• Always read and heed
all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
=> page 180. •
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure that
expectant mothers always wear safety belts correctly -
throughout the pregnancy.
Fig . 174 Safety belt
position during preg­
nancy
To prov ide maximum protection, safety be lts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's
body ~ page 182.
-Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
~ page 95, "General recommendations".
Safety first
Safety belts
-Make sure the seat back of th e rear seat bench is in an
upright position and securely latched in place before
using the belt.
-Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and
pelvis ~ fig. 174, ~ & -
-Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch
securely ~ page 181, fig. 172.
-Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal
injury in an accident.
• Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the
safety belt as low as possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation ~ & in "Fastening safety belts" on page 181. •
irechnical data

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Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 175 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
-Push the red release button on the buckle ~ fig. 175. The
belt tongue will spring out of the
buckle~ &,.
-Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt
tongue to its stowed position.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed. •
Adjusting safety belt height
Use the safety belt height adjustment to change belt posi­
tion on the shoulder.
Fig . 176 Safety belt
height adjustor
The safety belt height adjustors for the front seats can be
used to adjust the height of the shoulder portion of the seat
belt so that it is positioned properly.
-The height adjustor can only be pushed down if the catch
is squeezed at the same
time => fig. 176 G).
-Press the handle slowly up or down 0 so that the
shoulder portion of the safety belt is positioned nearly
midway over the
shoulder~ &, in "Safety belt position"
on page
182.
-Pull the belt to make sure that the upper attachment is
properly engaged.
.,

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;,;;..;; e.;.lt ;;,,; s;;...__1111
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa­
tion
=> page 180.
[ i] Tips
The seat height adjustment on the front seats can also be used the adjust the position of the safety belts .•
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju­
nes.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are correctly
positioned on the body. Improper seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body . Improper seating positions also increase
the risk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant who is not in the correct seating position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi­
tion in the vehicle while
traveling =>& .
& WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly
restrained and stay in a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(continued)
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
=> page 180. •
Safety belt tensioner
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts in use are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt pretensioners . The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack=> & in
"Care, service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner". Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement during a collision .
0 Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward. The rear belt pretensioner will be activated unnecessarily
in a collision and then has to be replaced .
[ i] Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal, side and rear -end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact force, the safety belt preten­
sioner are not activated.
• When the safety belt pretensioner is activated, a fine dust is
released. This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are scrapped. A qualified
deal -_,,.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ S_a _f_e _t ..:.y _ b
_ e_lt _s ______________________________________________ _
ership is familiar with these regulations and will be p leased to pass
on the informat ion to you .
• Be sure to observe al l safety, environmental and other regula ­
tions if the veh icle or individual parts of the system, particu lar ly t he
safety be lt or airbag, are to be disposed . We recommend you have
your author ized Audi dea ler perform this service for you .•
Care, service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pre -tens ioners are parts of the safety belt and
insta lled at the outboard seating positions on your Audi. Installing,
r e m oving, servici ng or repairing of belt pre-tensioners can damage
the safety be lt system and prevent that system from working prop ­
erly in a co llision .
T here are some important things you have to know to make sure
that the effectiveness of the system will not be impai red and that
d iscarded components do not cause injury or po llute t he environ ­
ment .
& WARNING
Improp er care , servicing and repair procedures can increase the
ri sk of per sonal injury and death by pre venting a safety belt
tens ioner from a ctivating when needed or a ctivating it unexpect­
edly:
• Never repair , adjust , or change any parts of the safety belt
s y stem .
• Safety belt sy stem s including safety belt pre -tensioner s cannot
be repaired . Sp eci al pr ocedu re s a re required for removal , in sta lla ­
tion and di sposal of this system .
• For any w ork on the safety belt system , we strongl y re com ­
mend tha t you see your authori zed Audi dealer or qualified techni ­
c ia n who ha s a Audi appro ved repair m anual , training and spe cial
e quipment nece ssary .
& WARNING (continu ed )
• The safety belt pre-tens ioner sy stem can be activated only
on ce . If safety belt pre -ten sioners ha ve been activ ated , then they
mu st be repl aced .
ffi For the sake of the environment
U ndeployed airbag modules and pretensioners might be classified
as Perchlorate Mater ial -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. When the vehicle or
parts of the restraint system inc luding airbag modu les safety be lts
with pretensioners are scrapped, all applicab le laws and regu la ­
t ions must be observed . Your author ized Audi dealer is fa miliar wi th
these requirements and we recommend that you have your dealer
perform this serv ice for you .•

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Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
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 proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=> page 168,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly=> page 96,
-Wear safety belts properly=> page 180 ,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children
=> page 210 .
In a col lision airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force . The suppl emental airbags can caus e injuries if
t he driver or the front seat passenger is not seated properly. There ­
fore in order to help the airbag to do its job , it is important, both as
a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at a ll 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 supplementa l protect ion in certain frontal
collisions => page 168, "Proper occupant seating positions" . For
detai ls on the operation of the seat adjustment
contro ls => page 97.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=> page 210.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first Vehicle operation
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system .
Proper sea ting position is important so that the fron t 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
Advanced Airbag System, please contact your authorized Audi
dea ler or qualified workshop, or ca ll Audi Customer CARE at 1 -800-
822 -2834 for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator wi ll fill the
airbags , break open the padded covers, and inflate between the
steering whee l and the driver and between the instrument pane l
and the front passenger. The airbags will deflate immediately after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind ­
shie ld 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 proper ly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement .
Together they help to prevent the driver and front seat 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 wi ll not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le dece leration
rate caused by the collision and registered by the electronic contro l
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 . Vehicle damage, _,,
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repair costs or even the lack of vehicle damage is not necessarily an
indication of whether an airbag should inflate or not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle speeds that will cover
every possible kind and ang le of impact that wil l always trigger the
a irbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary cons iderably between
one co llision and another . 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 also not inf late
in s ide or rear co llisio ns, or in rol l-overs .
Al way s remember : Airbags wi ll deploy only once , and on ly in certain
kinds of collisions. Yo ur safety belts are a lways there to offer protec ­
tion in those situat ions in which airbags are not supposed to deploy ,
or when they have already deployed; for example, when your vehic le
str ikes or is struck by another after the first co llision.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplem entary
r es tra int and is not a substitute for a safety be lt. The a irbag system
works most effective ly when used with the safety be lts . T herefore,
a lways properly wear your safety
be lts ~ page 176 .
& WARNING
Sitting too clo se to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
de cre ase the effect ivene ss of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a colli sion.
• N ever si t closer than 10 in ches (25 cm) to the steer ing wheel or
in strument panel .
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , inve stigate whether ad aptive equipment may be available
to held you re ach the pedal s and in crease your s eating distanc e
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestr ained , le aning forward , sitting sideways or out
of position in any way , your risk of injury i s much higher.
• You will also receive seriou s injuries and could even be killed if
you are up again st the airbag or too close to it when it infl ates
-
even with an Advanced A irbag .
& WARNING (continued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always
we ar s afety belt s
properly ~ page 181, "Safety belt s".
• Alway s make certain that children age 12 or young er always
ride in the rear sea t. If children are not properl y re st ra ined , they
may b e severely injured or killed when an airbag inflate s.
• Never let children ride unre str ained or improperly restr ained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seat s properly .
• Ne ver rid e w ith the b ackrest re clined.
• Alway s sit as far a s po ssible from the steering wheel or the
i nst rument
panel ~ page 168.
• Alway s sit upright with your ba ck ag ain st th e ba ckre st of your
s eat.
• Ne ver pla ce your feet on the in strument panel or on the seat.
Alwa ys keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent seriou s injuri es to th e le gs and hips if the airbag infl ates.
• Never re cline the front pa ssenger's seat to tran sport object s.
Item s can al so mo ve into the a re a of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden m aneuver. Objects near the
airbags can becom e projectile s and cau se injury wh en an airbag
i nflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deplo yed in a cr ash must be replaced .
• Use only original equipment airb ag s a pproved by Audi and
in stalled by a trained techni cian who has the nece ssary tool s and
diagno stic equipment to pr operly repl ace any airbag in y our
vehicle and a ssure sys tem effectiv enes s in a crash .
• N ever p ermit salv aged or re cycled airb ags to be in sta lled in
y our vehicle. •

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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.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size . 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 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off ("suppressed") if a child up to about one year of age
restrained 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 has been installed on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compliance with the US Safety
Standard ::::, page 212.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument panel tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you turn on the ignition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if the front passenger seat is not occupied,
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
• will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front
passenger seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occupied by an adult as
registered by the weight-sensing
mat ::::, page 198, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight 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 passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
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 condi­
tions stored in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
• a small child that is heavier than a typical 1 year-old child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless 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 instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not illuminate and stay lit) even
if a small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is not sitting upright
with their back against a non-reclined backrest with their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=> page 168, "Proper seating position for the driver".
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of injury through interaction with the airbag . "Low risk" deploy­
ment occurs in those crashes that take place at lower decelerations _,,.
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as defi ne d i n th e el ectronic contro l unit=> page 19 9, " PA SSE NGER
AI R B AG OFF lig ht ".
A lways remember, a c hild safety s eat or infant carrier instal led on
the front seat may be struck and knocked out of po sition by the
r a pi dly i nfla ting passe nger's ai rbag in a fron tal c olli sion . The a irbag
co uld greatly red uce the effectiveness of the child restraint and
e ven se riou sly inju re the child d urin g infla tion .
F or th is reason, and because the bac k seat is the safest plac e for
chi ldr en
-whe n prop erly r estrain ed accord in g to t he ir age an d size
-we stro ngly recomme nd that ch il d ren a lwa ys sit in the bac k se at
=> p age 210, "Child S afety".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the ba ckrest , center arm rest , door or roof .
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats on the rear seat .
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and
the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immediately install the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front
passenger's seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag
and cause serious personal injury to the child .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
& WARNING (continued)
• 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 .
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• 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 forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury , make sure that the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF 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
described => page 198, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System" .
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on.
• Have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer immedi ­
ately .
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu ­
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward or
rearward -facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat :