
___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
- Make sure that your passengers also b uckle up and prop
erly wea r th eir sa fety belts.
Protect children wit h a child restraint system appropriate
for the size and age.
The warning light i 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 a lways 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 light 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 be low 5 mph, the warning tone will not sound.
Fa sten your safe ty belt and m ake su re that your p assengers also
properl y put on th eir s afet y belts .
& WARNING
• Safety belt s are the single mo st effective mean s available to
reduce th e risk of ser ious injur y and death in a utomobile acci
dent s. For your prote ction and th at of your pas senger s, alwa ys
c orre ctl y we ar safety belt s when t he vehicle is moving .
• Failure t o pay att ention to th e warning light that co me on,
c ould lead to per sonal injury .•
Why safety belts?
Frontal co11isions and the law of physics
Front al crashes create very strong forces for pe ople riding
in vehicles.
F ig. 2 00 U nbel ted
o cc up ants i n a ve hicle
he ading for a wa ll
Fi g. 2 01 T he vehi cle
c ras hes in to t he wa ll
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body
we ight . Engineers cal l this energy "kinetic energy ."
T he higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehic le's
we ight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significan t factor. If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times! .,

& 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.
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 293, "Safety
belts" .•
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 205 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 80, "General recommendations" .
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
=> &. _,.
•
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

Airbag system -----------------=~-rm-I
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, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 196,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 81,
-Wear safety belts properly~ page 208,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 238.
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 is not seated properly. 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 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 provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions =>
page 196, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 81.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 238.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
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 position 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 dealer or qualified 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 will 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 place in the blink of an eye, so fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. 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 belts 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 of 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 will not inflate in all frontal collisions. The trig
gering of the airbag system depends on the vehicle deceleration
rate caused by the collision and registered by the electronic control
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,
9J),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

__________________________________________________ A_ i_ r _b _a...; g::- s_ y=--- s_t _e _m __ fflllll
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 238.
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 240.
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 226, "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 240), 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 196, "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
I),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

___ A_ ir_ b_ a-g _ s_y _s_ t_ e_ m _________________________________________________ _
as defin ed i n th e el ectron ic contro l u n it=> page 227, "PASSE NGER
AI R BAG OFF lig ht".
A lwa ys rem em ber, a c hild safet y se at or infant carr ier installe d on
the front seat may be str uck and k nocked o ut of po sition by t he
rap id ly in fla ting passe nger's air bag in a fron tal colli sion . The airb ag
cou ld great ly re duce the effectivene ss of the ch ild restrain t and
e ve n seri ous ly injure the chi ld dur ing in flatio n.
For th is reason, and beca use the bac k seat is the safest plac e for
chi ldren -wh en prop erly rest rained acc ording to th eir age and size
- we strong ly recommend that ch ildren a lways sit in the bac k se at
=> p age 238, "Ch ild Safe ty ".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be ser iously 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 , 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 226, "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 :

& WARNING !continued)
• 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. •
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental protection
to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Safety first
Fig . 210 Location of
driver airbag: in
steering wheel
(
Airbag system
Fig. 211 Location of
front passenger's
airbag: in the instru
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced Airbag System" in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Stan
dard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu
factured. The safety belts for the seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system . The pretensioners are also
activated by the electronic control unit for the airbag system .
The front safety belts also have load limiters to help reduce the
forces applied to the body in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel hub~ fig. 210 and
the airbag for the front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 211. The general location of the airbags is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags in your vehicle. We
urg e you to read the detailed information about airbags, safety belts
and child safety in this and the other chapters that make up the
owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, especially infants and small children.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
protection.
Vehicle care I I irechnical data

___ A_ i_r _b _a _ g~ s_ y_ s_t _e _m ___________________________________________________ _
& WARNING (continued)
• 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 can deploy in accordance with
the "low risk" option under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that
is heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front
passenger seat and the other conditions for airbag deployment
are met.
• Accident statistics have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position.
• For their own safety, all children, especially 12 years and
younger, should always ride in the back properly restrained 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 Safety Stan
dard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured. 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 vehicle 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. Always remember that
the airbag system can only help to protect you, if you are sitting
upright, wearing your safety belt and wearing it properly. This is why
you and your passengers must always be properly restrained, not
just because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been certified to
meet the "low risk" requirements for 3 and 6 year -old children on the
passenger side and very small adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployment criteria are intended to help reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel 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 240, "Child restraints and Advanced
Airbags" .
"Suppression" requires the front airbag 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
which the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was certified. For
a listing of the child restraints that were used to certify your
vehicle's compliance with the US Safety Standard=>
page 240,
• weight less than a threshold level stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger seat. .,

Airbag syst em -----------------=~-
When a person is detected on the front passenger seat, weighing
more than the to tal weight of a child t hat is about 1 year old
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), the front airbag on the passenger side may or may not deploy .
The
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the e lectronic
control unit detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that
requires the front a irbag to be turned off . If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
O FF
light does not come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been tu rned off by the contro l u nit and can dep loy if the
control unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory .
I f the total weight on the front passenger seat is more than that o f
a typical
1 year -old, but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front airbag on the passenger side may dep loy (the
PA SS ENGER AIR
BAG OFF
l ight does not come on).
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
• a small ch ild that is heavier than a typ ical 1 year-o ld child is on
the front passenger seat (regardless of whether the child is in one
of the child sa fety seats listed ~
page 240),
• a child who has outgrown child res traints is on the front
passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
O FF
light in the cen ter of the instrument panel wi ll co me on and stay
on .
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (the
PAS SEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
• a small adult or teenager is on the front passenger seat
• 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.
I f the front passenger airbag dep loys, the Federal Standard requires
the airbag t o meet the "low risk" deployment criteria to help reduce
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
the risk of injury through interaction with the airbag
. "Low risk"
dep loyment occurs in those crashes that ta ke place at l ower decel
erations as defined in the electronic contro l unit .~
page 226
Al way s remembe r:
Even though your vehicle is equipped with
Advanced Airbags, the safes t place for chi ldren is properly
restrained on the back seat. Please be sure to read the important
informat ion in t he sections tha t follow a nd be sure to heed a ll of the
WARNINGS.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates , always wear
s afety belts prope rly.
• If you are unrestrained , leaning forward , sitt ing s ideways or out
of position in any w ay, your risk of injury i s mu ch higher .
• You will al so receive se riou s injurie s and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too clo se t o it when it inflate s -
even with an Advanced Airbag=>
page 215 .
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat in stalled on the front
pa ssenge r seat will be ser iou sly injured and can be killed if the
front airb ag inflate s -even with an Advanced Airbag System .
• Although the Advan ced Airbag S ystem in your vehicle is
de signed to turn off the front airbag when a rearward -fa cing child
restraint h as been in stalled on the front pa ssenger seat , nobod y
c an ab solutely guarantee that deployment i s impo ssible in all
c onceivable situations that may happen during the useful life of
your vehicle .
• The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild s afety seat or inf ant
c arrier with great force and will smash the chi ld safety seat and
c hild ag ain st the ba ckre st, center a rm re st, door , or roof .
• Alway s in stall rearward -facing child re straint s on the b ack
seat .
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data