2008 AUDI S6 belt

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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 234.
Special precautions apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat~
page 212. •
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 96.
- 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 197.
- Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of the rear seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts properly~
page 206.
-Make sure that children are always properly restrained in
a child restraint that is appropriate for their size and age
~ page 234.
L1}. 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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& WARNING (continued )
• Always adjust the head restraint properly so that it can give
maximum protection . •
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an important part
of your vehicle's occupant restraint system and can help
to reduce the risk of injuries in accident situations.
Fig . 190 Correctly
adjusted head restraint
viewed from the side
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to achieve
the best protection.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge of the
restraint is level with the top of your head, but no lower
than eye level and so it is as close to the back of your
head as possible :::::,
page 197, fig. 190.
Adjusting head restraints => page 93.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Driving
without head restraints or with improperly adjusted head
restraints increases the risk of serious injuries in a collision. To
help reduce the risk of injury:
• Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly
adjusted .
• Every person in the vehicle must have a properly adjusted head
restraint .
• Always make sure each person in the vehicle properly adjusts
their head restraint. Each head restraint must be adjusted
according to occupants' size so that the upper edge is as even
with the top of the person's head, but no lower than eye level and
so it is as close to the back of to the head as possible .
• Never attempt to adjust head restraint while driving . If you
have driven off and must adjust the driver headrest for any reason ,
first stop the vehicle safely before attempting to adjust the head
restraint.
• Children must always be properly restrained in a child restraint
that is appropriate for their age and size =>
page 234. •
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce the risk of
injury if vehicle occupants are properly seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious injury or
death. Safety belts can only work when they are properly
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 als o inc rease
the risk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant who is not in the proper seating ..,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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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

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Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
~ page 203, fig. 193, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall~
page 203, fig. 194.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph
(30 to 50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are
even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they
determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions. •
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety be lts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Fig . 195 A driver not
wearing a safe ty belt is
violently thrown
forward Fig. 196
A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the
driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
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. 195. 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
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, 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
a lready 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~ fig. 196. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they
can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •

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

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& 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