Page 145 of 316

Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure that
expectant mothers always wear safety belts correctly -
throughout the pregnancy.
Fig . 128 Safety belt
position during preg
nancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always
be positioned correctly on the wearer's body=>
page 142.
-Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
=> page 87, "General recommendations".
- Make sure the seat back of the rear seat bench is in
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::::,
page 143, fig. 128, => &.
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch securely =>
page 141, fig. 126.
- Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
Safety first
Safety belts
& 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 141. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 129 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
- Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 129. 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 .•
Vehicle care
I I irechnical data
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......... _s_ a_ fe_ ty=-- b_ e _ lt_s ________________________________________________ _
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju
ries.
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.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor
mation =>
page 140. •
Safety belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front and side 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 and side collisions of great
severity . This tightens the belt and takes up belt slack=>&. in
"Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner". Taking up the
slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement during a colli
sion.
[ i] Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear-end collisions, in a
rollover and in accidents involving very little impact force, the safety
belt pretensioner 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
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. •
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_________________________________________________ S_ a_f _e _t .:..y _ b_ e_lt_ s __ llll
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the safety belts on your
Audi. Installing, remov ing, servic ing or repair ing of belt preten
sioners can damage the safety be lt system and prevent it from
working correctly in a coll ision.
T here are some important things you have to know to make sure
that the effectiveness of the system will not be impaired and that
discarded components do not cause injury or po llute the environ
ment .
& WARNING
Improper car e, servicing and repair proc edure s can incr ease the
ri sk of p ers onal injury and d eat h by pre venting a safety b elt
pret ensioner from activating whe n ne eded o r activating it un ex
p ec tedly :
• The belt preten sioner sy stem can be activated only once. If belt
p reten sion ers ha ve been activated , the syste m mu st be repl aced.
• Never repair , adju st, or chan ge any parts o f the safet y belt
s y stem .
• Safety belt sy stem s includin g safety belt preten sion ers cannot
be r epaired . Spe cial pro cedure s are requ ired for r emoval , in sta lla
tion and di spo sal of t his sys tem .
• For an y wor k on the safet y be lt sy stem , we strongl y rec om
mend that you see your authori zed Audi de aler or qua lifi ed techni
cian w ho has an Aud i appro ved rep air m anu al, t ra ining a nd spe cial
equipment n ece ssa ry.
W For the sake of the environm ent
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretensioners might be c lassified
as Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc .ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlorate. When the vehicle or
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation parts of the restraint system including airbag modules safety belts
with pretensioners are scrapped, a ll applicable laws and regu la
tions must be observed. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar with
these requirements and we recommend that you have your dea ler
perform this service for you. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
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 safe ty a nd the safety of your passengers, before
driving o ff, a lways:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 130,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 88,
- Wear safety belts properly~ page 140,
-Always properly use the proper child restraint to pro tect
children~
page 168 .
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force. The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger are not seated proper ly . 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 keep ing room between your body and the steering wheel and the
front of the passenger compartment, the airbag can inflate fu lly and
comp letely and prov ide supplementa l protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 130, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
detai ls on the operation of the seat adjustment controls =>
page 88
and=> page 89.
It's especially important that chi ldren are proper ly restrained
=>
page 168.
There is a lot that the dr iver and the passenger can and must do to
help the individual safety features installed in your Audi work
together as a system.
P roper seating position is important so that the front airbag on the
driver side can do its job. I f 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, o r if
you have concerns with regard to the function or operation of the
Advanced Airbag System, p lease contact your authorized Audi
dea ler or qua lif ied workshop, or call Audi Customer CARE at 1-800-
822 -2834 for possib le 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 wheel and the driver and be tween the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags wil l deflate immediate ly after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind
shield again without interruption.
A ll of this takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so fast that many people
don't even rea lize that the airbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way
when they dep loy. Fron t airbags in combination wi th properly worn
safety belts slow down and limit the occupant's forward movement.
T ogether they he lp to prevent the driver and passenger from hitting
parts of the inside the vehic le while reducing the forces acting on
the occupant during the crash. In this way they he lp to reduce the
r isk 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 w ill not inflate in al l fro ntal col lisions . The trig
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le deceleration
r ate caused by the colli sion and registe red by the electronic contro l
unit. If this rate is below the reference value programmed into the
cont rol unit, the airbags w ill not be t riggered, even though the car
may be bad ly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehicle damage, .,,,.
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repair costs or even the lack of vehicle damage is not necessari ly an
indication of whether an airbag should inflate or not.
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle speeds that will cover
every possible kind and ang le of impact that wil l always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances wil l vary considerab ly between
one collision and another. Important factors include, for example,
the nature (hard or so ft) of the object which the car hits, the angle
of impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags wi ll also not inflate
in side or rear co llisions, or in roll -overs .
Al way s rem ember : Airbags wi ll deploy only once, and on ly in certain
kinds of coll isions . Your safety belts are always there to offer protec
tion in those situat ions in wh ich airbags are not supposed to deploy,
or when they have already deployed; for example, when your vehic le
strikes or is struck by another a fter the first coll ision.
T his is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a supplementary
restraint and is not a substitute for a sa fety be lt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts. Therefore ,
a lways prope rly wea r your safety belt s =>
page 137 .
& WARNING
Sitting too clo se to the steering wheel or in strument panel will
de crease the effect ivene ss of the airbags and will incr ease the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 in ches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
in strument panel.
• If you c annot sit more than 10 in ches (25 cm ) from the steering
wheel , inve stiga te whether adaptive equipment may be available
to held you reach the pedal s and in crease your se ating dist ance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestra ined , leaning forward , sittin g side ways or out
of position in any way , your risk of injury i s much higher .
• You will also receive serious injur ies and could even be killed if
you are up again st the airba g or too clo se to it when it infl ates -
ev en with an Advanced Airbag .
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WAR N IN G ( continued )
• To reduce the ri sk of injury when an airbag inflate s, alw ays
wear safety belt s prope rly~ page 141 , "S afet y belt s".
• If children are not properly re strained , they may be severely
injured or killed whe n an airbag inflates .
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehi cle . Adju st the front seats properly .
• Alway s sit a s far a s po ssible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel~ page 1 30, "Proper occup ant se ati ng po si
tions ".
• Alwa ys sit upright with yo ur b ack again st the ba ckrest of your
s eat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument p anel or on the seat .
Alway s keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injurie s to the leg s and hips if the airbag infl ate s.
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be repla ced.
• U se on ly original equipment airbags app roved by Audi and
installed by a trained technici an who has the n eces sary tool s and
diagno sti c equipment to properly repl ace an y airb ag i n your
vehicle and assure sy stem effectivenes s in a crash .
• Ne ver permit salvaged or re cy cled airb ag s to be in stalled in
your vehicle . •
Child restraints on the front seat -some
important things to know
- Be sure to read the important info rmation a nd head the
WARNINGS for important details about c hildren and
Advanced Airbags~ page
168 . .-,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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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 170.
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,
• 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 157, "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 onl. 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 170), 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 litl 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 130, "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
as defined in the electronic control unit=>
page 157, "PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF light".
Always remember, a child safety 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 the back seat is the safest place for
children -when properly restrained according to their age and size
- we strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
=>
page 168, "Child Safety" . .,
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& 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 backrest, door or roof. • 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:
• 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 .
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& 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 157, "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 :
• Improper installation of child restraints can reduce their effec
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection.
• An improperly installed child restraint can interfere with the
airbag as it deploys and seriously injure or even kill the child -
even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier .
• Never place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight registered by the weight -sensing mat and can cause
injury in a crash . •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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___ A_ ir_b _a_ g;:::;_ s--:.. y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can pro vid e supp lemen tal prot ection
to p roperly r es tra ined front seat occu pa nts.
Fig . 130 Location of
driver airb ag: in
s te ering wheel
Fig . 13 1 Locat ion of
front p assenger 's
airbag: in the instru
ment panel
You r ve hicle is equipped w ith a dual -stage front "Adva nced Airbag
System" in comp liance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle
Sa fet y S tanda rd (F MVSS) 208 as app licable at the time your ve hicl e
was manufactu red. Your veh icle is also equipped with s ide airbags
fo r th e d river an d front seat passenge r. The safe ty bel ts for the fr ont
seats have "pretens ione rs" that help to take slac k out of the belt
sy stem. Th e pre tensio ners a re a ls o ac tiv ate d b y the elec tron ic
control un it for t he airbag system . T
he front saf ety be lts also have load limiters to help reduce the
f o rc es a pp lie d t o th e b ody in a cra sh .
T he airbag for the driver is in the steerin g wh eel hub~ fig. 13 0 and
t h e ai rbag fo r the front pas senge r is in the i nstrument panel
~ fig. 1 31. The gene ral loca tion of the airba gs is m arke d "AIR BA G".
T here is a lot you need to know about the airbags in your vehicle . We
u rge you t o rea d th e deta iled inf orma tion about a ir ba gs, s afe ty belts
and child safety in this and the other chapters that make up the
owne r's lite ra tu re. P lea se be s ure to hee d the WAR NINGS· th ey are
e xtremely important for your safety and the safety of your passen
ge rs, especia lly i nfa nts a nd sma ll children.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection .
• Airbag work most effectively when used with properly worn
safety belts.
• Therefore , always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your vehicle is properly restrained .
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, especially infants and small
children , will receive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger seat , nobody can absolutely
guarantee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
• The Advanced Airbag System will deploy in accordance with
the "low risk " option unde r the U.S . Federal Standard if a child that .._