2008 AUDI S6 warning

lffl)....__S_a _ fe_ t _y=-- b_ e_ lt_s ________________________________________________ _
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are necessary, how
they work and how to adjust and wear them correctly.
- Read all the information that follows and heed all of the
instructions and WARNINGS.
& 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 occupants, 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
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions: two in the front and
three in the rear. Each seating position has a safety belt .
& 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 warning system for the driver and front
seat passenger (on USA models only) to remind you about
the importance of buckling-up.
Before driving off, always:
Fig . 192 Safety belt
warning light in the
instrument cluster -
enlarged
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are wearing it
properly. ._

- Make sure that your passengers also buckle up and prop­
erly wear their safety belts.
- Protect children with a child restraint system appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light 4,-in the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts . In
addition , you will hear a warning tone .
After the ignition is switched on, the warning light in the instrument cluster will always come on for about 6 seconds and if the driver has
not fastened the safety belt , a warning tone will also sound for
about 6 seconds. As soon as the driver has fastened the safety belt,
the warning tone will stop and the warning ligh t will go out .
If the driver or front seat passenger have not buckled -up within
about 10 seconds after the warning tone has stopped and the
vehicle is moving faster than about 15 mph, the warning tone will
sound again for about 6 seconds and then stop for 24 seconds and
then repeat this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minutes . At
speeds below 5 mph, the warning tone will not sound.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your passengers also
properly put on their safety belts.
& WARNING
• 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
correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
• Failure to pay attention to the warning light that come on,
could lead to personal injury. •
Safety first
Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for people riding
in vehicles.
Fig . 193 Unbelted
occupants in a vehicle
heading for a wall
Fig. 194 The vehicle
crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen­
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's
weight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h) , the energy increases 4 times!
~
Vehicle care I I Technical data

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!
Fig . 19 7 Driv er is
co rre ctl y r est rai ned in
a sud den braki ng
m an eu ver
Safety belts used pr operly can make a b ig di fference . Safety belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy
levels app lied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the
uncontrolled movemen t 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 s lowed down more gent ly 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 fro ntal co llision, sa fety
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 s tore , a lways buckle up and make sure others do , too . Acci­
dent statistics show that vehic le occupants properly wearing safety
belts have a lower risk of being injured and a much better chance o f
surviving an accident. Properly using safety belts also greatly
increases the ability of the supplemen tal airbags to do their job i n a
collision . For this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally required in
most coun tries including much of the United States and Canada.
Safety first
Safety b elts
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you sti ll have to wear
t he safety belts provided. Front airbags, for examp le, are activa ted
only in some fronta l collisions . The front airbags are not ac tiva ted in
a ll fron tal collisions, in side and rear collisions, in roll overs o r in
cases where there is not enough deceleration through impact to the
front of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt and make sure every­
body in your vehic le is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi tioned across
the strongest bones of your body.
Always wear safety be lts as illustrated and described in
th is chapter .
Mak e su re that your s afety belts ar e always r eady for use
a n d a re not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belt s or wear ing them improperl y increases
the ri sk of ser ious per so nal injury a nd de ath . S afety belt s ca n work
only when used corre ctl y.
• Alway s fasten your safety belts correctly before dri ving off and
make sure all passengers are correctly restrained .
• For ma ximum prote ction , safety belts mu st always be posi ­
tioned properly on the body .
• Never str ap more than one pe rson, includ ing small ch ildr en ,
into any belt .
• Never pla ce a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap .
• Alway s keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven . .,
Vehicle care
I I irechnical data

___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
& WARNING (continued)
• Never let any person ride with their feet on the instrument
panel or sticking out the window or on the seat.
• Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing
so will increase your risk of being injured or killed.
• Never wear belts twisted.
• Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your
clothing, such as eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware.
• Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or
otherwise out of position.
• Several layers of heavy clothing may interfere with correct posi­
tioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the system.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
buckle from latching securely.
• Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the
shoulder belt. However, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint systems .
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt hard­
ware can break in an accident. Inspect belts regularly. If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are damaged, have belts replaced
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Safety belts that have been worn and loaded in an accident
must be replaced with the correct replacement safety belt by an
authorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be necessary even if
damage cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that were loaded
must also be inspected.
• Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself.
& WARNING (continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel
=> page 289, "Safety
belts". •
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig . 198 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's body.
Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=> page 87, "General recommendations".
Make sure the seat back of the rear seat bench is in an
upright position and secu rely latched in place before
using the belt~&.
Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis~& .
~

- Insert the t ongue into the corre ct buckle of your seat
unt il you hear it la tc h securely=> fig. 198.
- Pu ll on t he belt to make su re t hat it is securely latc hed i n
the buckle.
Automati c safet y belt r etracto rs
Eve ry safety belt is equipped with an automatic belt retractor on the
shou lder belt. This feature locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident . T he belt may also lock
when you drive up or down a steep hill or through a sharp curve .
During normal driving the belt lets you move free ly.
S afety belt pretensi oners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pretensioner that helps to
tighten the safety belt and remove slack when the prete nsioner is
activat ed . The function of the pretension er is monitored by a
warning light=>
page 20.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the d river seat is equipped with
a switchable locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt
is used to attach a ch ild sa fety sea t. Be sure to read the important
information about this feature=>
page 244.
& WARNING
Improperly po sitioned safety belts can cau se seriou s injury in an
accident =>
page 207 , "Safety belt po sition ".
• Safet y belts offer optimum prote ction onl y when the seat bac k
i s upright and belt s are proper ly po sit ioned on the bod y.
• Alway s make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the
c ent er re ar safet y belt i s att ached i s se curely l atched whene ver
the re ar center safety b elt is being us ed. If the b ackre st is not
se curely latched , the p asseng er will mo ve forw ard with the back ­
rest d uring sudde n br aking, in a sudden maneu ver and especi ally
in a crash.
Safety first
Safety belts
& WARNING !continued )
• Never attach the safety belt to th e buckle for another seat.
Atta ch ing the belt to the wrong b uckle will reduce safety belt
effe ct iv eness and c an cause ser ious person al injury .
• A p assenger who i s not p roperly re str ained c an be ser iously
injur ed by the saf ety belt itself when it move s from the stronger
p art s of the b ody into critic al are as like the abdomen .
• Alway s lock the convertible locking retractor when you are
s e cu ring a child safet y seat in the vehi cle
=> page 246. •
Safety be lt position
Cor rect bel t position is the key to getting maximum
protec tio n from s afety belts.
Fig . 199 He ad r estrain t
a n d sa fe ty b elt p osi­
tion as seen from th e
s ide
Standard features on your vehicle he lp you adjust the position of
the safety belt to match your body size.
• belt height adjustment for the front seats,
• automatic be lt height adjustment for the rear seats .
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal
injury in an accident.
• The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned
over the middle of the occupant's shoulder and never across the
neck or throat .
• The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper
body
=> page 207, fig . 199. Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary .
• The lap belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned as
low as possible across pelvis and never over the abdomen. Make
sure the belt lies flat and snug
=> page 207, fig. 199. 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 205. •
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. 200 Safety belt
position during preg­
nancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's body=>
page 207.
-Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
=> page 87, "General recommendat ions".
- Make sure the seat back of the 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 . 200, =>
&,.
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch securely =>
page 206, fig. 198.
- 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 206. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
~ .. a,
Fig . 201 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
- Push the red release button on the buckle~ fig. 201. 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. •
Safety first
Safety belts
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjustment, the three
point safety belt strap routing can be fitted to the shoulder
area, according to body size.
Fig . 202 Safety belt
height adjustment for
the front seats -loop­
around fittings
Push the loop -around fittings up ~ fig. 202 @, or
- squeeze together the G) button, and push the loop ­
around fittings
down @.
- Pull the belt to make sure that the upper attachment is
properly engaged.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa­
tion
=> page 205.
[ i ] Tips
• The shoulder belt part should route approximately over the
middle of your shoulder -under no circumstances should it route
over your neck and throat area=>
& in "Safety belt position" on
page~Z •
•
Vehicle care I I Technical data

• ....__S_ a_ fe_ t _y=-- b_ e_ lt_s ________________________________________________ _
• With the front sea ts, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to 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 w ill 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 pos i­
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.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor­
mation
~ page 205. •
Safety belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts 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
"Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner" on
page 211.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movemen t
during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward .
[ 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 pretensioners are 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 ­
ership is familiar with these regulations and will be pleased to pass
on the information to you.
• Be sure to observe all safety, environmental and other regula­
tions if the vehicle or individual parts of the system, particularly the
safety belt or airbag , are to be disposed . We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this service for you. •