2008 AUDI A4 AVANT seats

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&, WARNING (continued)
• Passengers must always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
• Passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too close to the
airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye.
• Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm)
between the front passenger's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and
properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Before driving, always adjust the front passenger seat and
head restraint properly.
• Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat. Never
rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the window, etc.
The airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect you properly and can even increase the risk of injury in a crash.
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child safety
seats => page 210.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
=> page 187. •
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both feet on
the floor consistent with their physical size and be prop­
erly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect seating
position in the event of a sudden braking maneuver or an
accident , your passengers on the rear bench seat must
always observe the following :
- Make sure that the seatback is securely latched in the
upright position =>
page 104.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but no lower
than eye level =>
page 171.
-Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of the rear seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts properly =>
page 181.
-Make sure that children are always properly restrained in
a child restraint that is appropriate for their size and age
=>
page 210.
& WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the rear seat can be
seriously injured in a crash.
• Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and
properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
• Safety belts only offer maximum protection when the seatback
is securely latched in the upright position and the safety belts are
properly positioned on the body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal injury from improperly
positioned safety belts!
_,.

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position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect seating posi -
tion when the vehicle is being
used ~& .
The following bulletins list only some sample positions that will
increase the risk of serious injury and death. Our hope is that these
examples will make you more aware of seating positions that are
dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
• never stand up in the vehicle
• never stand on the seats
• never kneel on the seats
• never ride with the seatback reclined
• never lie down on the rear seat
• never lean up against the instrument panel
• never sit on the edge of the seat
• never sit sideways
• never lean out the window
• never put your feet out the window
• never put your feet on the instrument panel
• never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back of the seat
• never ride in the footwell
• never ride in the cargo area
& WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants stay in a proper
seating position and are properly restrained whenever the vehicle
is being used.
•
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and must never
be interfered with by a floor mat or any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without interference and that
nothing prevents them from returning to their original positions.
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free and can be
secured with floor mat fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal travel is required to
bring the vehicle to a full stop.
& WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss of vehicle control
and increase the risk of serious injury.
• Never place any objects in the driver's footwell. An object could
get into the pedal area and interfere with pedal function. In case
of sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake
or accelerate!
• Always make sure that nothing can fall or move into the
driver's footwell. •
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely attached to
the floor mat fasteners and do not interfere with the free
movement of the pedals.
- Make sure that the floor mats are properly secured and
cannot move and interfere with the
pedals~& . ~

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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
T hi s ch apter explain s why s afe ty belts ar e necess ary , h ow
they w ork an d how t o ad just an d wear th em corr ectly.
- Read all the inf ormat ion that follows a nd heed all of the
i ns tru ction s and WARNINGS.
LJ}. WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death .
• Safety belts are the single most effective means available to
reduce the risk of serious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents . For your protection and that of your passengers , always
wear the safety belts properly when the vehicle is moving .
• Pregnant women , injured, or physically impaired persons must
also use safety belts . Like all vehicle o ccupants , they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts . The
best way to protect a fetus is to protect the mother - throughout
the entire pregnancy . •
Number of seats
Y o ur Aud i has a total of fi ve seati ng po siti ons: tw o in t he fr ont and
three in t he rear . E ac h seating position has a safety b elt.
LJ}. WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death.
• Never strap more than one person , including small children,
into any belt . It is especially dangerous to place a safety belt over
a child sitting on your lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle than there are safety
belts available.
• Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is properly restrained
with a separate safety belt or child restraint . •
Safety belt warning light ~
Your vehicle has a warn ing system for the d river and (on
USA models only) f ront seat passenger to re mind you
a b ou t the i mpor tanc e o f b uckl in g -up.
Fig . 166 Safety belt
warning light in the instrument cluster -
enlarged
.,.

of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the
way=> fig . 169. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even when they dep loy,
airbags provide only additional protection . Airbags are not
supposed to deploy in all kinds of accidents . Although your Audi is
e quipped wi th airbags, all vehicle occupan ts , including the driver,
must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of
severe injury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that 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 . Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the
vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other
passengers~ page 178,
fig. 170. In a frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently,
where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat
passenger. •
Safety first
Safety belts
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision. It's simply not true!
&l
9 w a, a,
Fig. 171 Driver is
correctly restrained in
a sudden braking
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big difference. Safety belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy
levels applied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the
uncontrolled movement that can cause serious injuries. In addition ,
safety belts reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit
of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety features engineered
into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the kinetic energy over a
longer period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body
more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially reduce the risk of injury in other kinds
of crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the
corner store, a lways buckle up and make sure others do, too . Acci­
dent statistics show that vehicle occupants properly wearing safety
belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of
surviving an accident . Properly using safety belts also greatly .,,_
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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& 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

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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 _,,.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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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 :