2009 AUDI S4 CABRIOLET instrument panel

___ D_ ri_v _i_n ..::g::;.._ S_ a_ f _e__, ly'---------------------------------------------------
- Alw ay s place an d prop erly secure h eavy items in the
luggage com partm en t as fa r fo rwa rd as possi ble.
& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can fly through the
vehicle causing ser ious personal injury in the event of hard br aking
or an a ccident. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury :
• Always put objects , for e xample , luggage or other heavy items
in the luggage compartment.
& WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehicle handles. To help
reduce the risk of a loss of control leading to serious personal
injury :
• Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects , that a
change in the center of gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
-Always distribute the load as e venly as possible .
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the luggage compart -
ment as possible .
• Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating or the Gros s
Vehicle Weight Rating specified on the safety compliance sti cker
on the left door jamb. Exceeding permis sible weight standards
c an cau se the veh icle to slide and handle differently .
• Please ob serve information on safe driving:::::,
page 146.
& WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from being dra wn into the
vehicle , always keep the rear l id clo sed while driv ing.
• Ne ver t ransport obje cts larger than those fitting completely
into the luggage area because the rear lid cannot be fully closed.
& W ARNING (continued )
• If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid open, observe the
following notes to reduce the risk of poisoning :
- Close all windows ,
- Close the power top ,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument panel ,
- Switch off the air recirculation ,
- Set the fre sh air fan to the highest speed .
& WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all windows , the power roof and
the rear lid are securely closed and locked to reduce the ri sk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used.
• After closing the rear lid , always make sure that it i s properly
closed and locked .
• Never leave your vehicle unattended especially with the rear lid
left open. A child could crawl into the vehicle through the luggage
compartment and close the rear lid becoming trapped and unable
to get out . Being trapped in a vehi cle can le ad to serious personal
injury.
• Never let ch ildren play in or around the vehicle.
• Never let pa ssengers ride in the luggage compartment . Vehicle
occupants must always be properly restrained in one of the
vehicle's seating po sition s.
[ i ] Tips
• Air circu lat io n helps to reduce window fogg in g when the power
top is c losed. Stale air escapes to the outside through slots in the
t rim pa nels o n both sides of the luggage co mpartment. Make sure
that these s lots are not b locked. _.

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
~ page 160, fig. 162, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops
them -here, the wall
~ page 160, fig. 163.
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 belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig . 164 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is
violently thrown
forward
Safety belts
Fig. 165 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. 164 . 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 deploy,
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
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~ fig. 165. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
~ehicle care Technical data

& WARNING (continued)
• Never let any person ride with 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 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 their effectiveness.
• 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
correct use of some child restraint systems.
• Never allow safety belts to become damaged by being caught
in door or seat hardware .
• Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and damaged belt hardware
can break in an accident . Inspect belts regularly. If webbing, bind­
ings, 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 or qualified workshop. 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 .
Safety first
Safety belts
& WARNING (continued)
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel
~ page 242, "Safety
belts" .•
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 167 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 92, "General recommendations".
Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis=>& .
Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch securely=> fig. 167.
Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle. ..,
~ehicle care irechnical data

___ 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 safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, a lways:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
=>
page 148,
- Adjust the front passenger's seat properly => page 93,
- Wear safety belts properly=> page 162,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children=>
page 190 .
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink of an eye and with
considerable force . Th e suppl emental airbags can caus e 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 impor tant, both as
a driver and as a passenger to sit properly at all 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 prov ide supplementa l protection in certain frontal
collisions ~
page 148, "Proper occupant seating positions" . For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls~
page 93
and ~ page 96.
It's especially important that chi ldren are proper ly restrained
~ page 190.
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 seating posi tion is important so that the front 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 qua lif ied workshop, or call 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 wheel and the driver and between the instrument panel
and the front passenger. The airbags will deflate immediately after
deployment so that the front occupants can see through the wind ­
shield again without interruption .
All of this takes p lace in the blink 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 deploy . Front airbags in combination with properly worn
safety bel ts 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 w ill not in flate in al l frontal collisions . The trig ­
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehic le deceleration
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, .,

__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a...; g::- s_ y=--- s_t _e _m ___ lJII
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 possible to define a range of vehicle speeds that will cover
every possible kind and angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary considerably between
one collision and another. Important factors include, for example,
the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of impac t, vehicle sp eed , etc . The front airbags will also not inflate
in side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs.
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only once, and only in certain
kinds of collisions. Your safety belts are always there to offer protec­
tion in those situations in which airbags are not supposed to deploy,
or when they have already deployed; for example, when your vehicle
strikes or is struck by another after the first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a suppl em entary
restraint and is not a substitute for a safety belt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the safety belts. Therefore ,
always properly wear your safety belts=>
page 159.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm) from the steering
wheel, investigate whether adaptive equipment may be available
to held you reach the pedals and increase your seating distance
from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sideways or out
of position in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly~
page 163, "Safety belts".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly.
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel~
page 148, "Proper occupant seating posi­
tions".
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest of your
seat.
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat .
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the legs and hips if the airbag inflates.
• Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects.
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_b _ a_ g~ s_ y_s _t _e _m _________________________________________________ _
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 190.
Even though your vehic le is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that a ll children, especia lly those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly restrained for their
age and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat
a potentia lly dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not
the safest p lace for a chi ld 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 applicab le at the time your vehicle
was manufactured.
Th e Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
turned off ("suppressed") if a chi ld up to about one year of age
restrained in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified has been instal led on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify compliance with the US Safety
Standard =>
page 192.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instrument panel tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been
t urned 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 179, "Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System" .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a tota l 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 fron t 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 s ide
has not been turned off by the electronic contro l 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 ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1 year-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child safety seats listed =>
page 192), or
• a child who has outgrown chi ld 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 148, "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 p lace at lower decelerations .,.

Airbag system -----------------=~-
as defined in the electronic contro l unit:::::, page 18 0, "P ASSENG ER
A IR BAG OFF lig ht".
A lways remember, a ch ild safety s eat or infant carrier insta lled on
the front seat may be struck a nd knocked out of position by the
rap id ly infl atin g p ass eng er's ai rba g in a front al co llision . The air bag
co uld greatly reduce the effectiveness of the chi ld re st raint and
e v en s erio usl y inju re the chi ld during inflati on.
F or this reason, and because the bac k seat is t he safest plac e for
c hi ldr en -w he n prop erly res train ed acc ordi ng to th eir age a nd size
- w e stro ng ly recomme nd that c hildren a lways s it in t he bac k seat
::::;, page 190, "Chil d Safe ty" .
& 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 ai rbag 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:
Controls and equip­ ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& 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 179, "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 :
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
& WARNIN G (cont in u ed)
• Airb ag work m ost effectiv ely when u sed with properly worn
sa fet y be lt s .
• Ther efore , always wear your safety belt s and ma ke sure that
eve rybod y in your vehi cle is prope rly re str ained.
& WARNING
A person on the front p assenger se at, espe cially infant s and small
c hildren , will re ceive seriou s injuries and can ev en be killed by
being t oo clos e to the airbag when it infl ates.
• Although the Adva nced Airbag System in your ve hicle i s
de signed to turn off the front passenger airb ag i f a n infant or a
s mall child i s on the front pa ssenger seat , nobody can absolutely
gu ara ntee that deployment under these spe cial co nditio ns is
impos sible in all conceivable situations that m ay happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
• The Adv an ced Airbag Sy stem can deploy in a ccordance with
the "lo w risk" option unde r the U .S. Feder al Stand ard if a child t hat
is heavier than the typi cal on e-year old child i s on th e front
pa sse nger seat an d the other condition s for airb ag dep loym ent
are met.
• Acc ident stat istics have sh own that children are gen erally s afer
in the rear se at area than in the front seating posit ion .
• For th eir own safet y, all children , espe cially 12 yea rs and
younger , should alway s ride in th e back properly r estrained for
their age and size. •
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Sa fety Stan ­
dard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured.
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements the safety belts to
provide additional protection for the driver's and front passenger's
heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags inflate only
in frontal impacts when the vehic le deceleration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the overall
occupant restraint system in your vehicle. A lways remember that
the airbag system can only help to protect you, if you are sitting
upright, wear ing your safety be lt and wear ing it proper ly . This is why
you and your passengers must a lways be properly restrained, not
just because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced A irbag System in your veh ic le has been certified to
meet the "low risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -o ld children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of injury
through interact ion with the front airbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to comply with the
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Standard, to turn off the
front airbag for infants 12 months old and younger who are restrained on the front passenger seat in child restraints that are
listed in the Standard~
page 192, "Child restraints and Advanced
Airbags".
"S uppression" requi res the front ai rbag on the passenger side to be
turned off if:
• a child up to about one year of age is restrained on the front
passenger seat in one of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified. For
a listing of the child restraints that were used to certify your
vehic le's compliance wi th the US Safety Standard ~
page 192,
• weight less than a threshold leve l stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger sea t. _.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data