• ..__O_ n_ t_ h _e _ ro_ a_d __________________________________________________ _
On the road
Steering
Applies to vehicl es : with m anua lly a dju stab le steer in g wh eel
Manually adjusted steering wheel
The height and reach of the steering wheel can be
adjusted.
First, adjust the driver 's seat correctly.
Pull the lever~ fig. 114 -arrow -~&,.
Fig. 114 Lever under
the steering column
Move the steering wheel to the desired position.
Push the lever against the steering column unt il it locks.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) between your chest and the
c en ter of th e steering wh eel. If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 25 cm) from the steering wheel, se e if adaptive equipment is avail
able to help you reach the pedals and inc rease the dis tance fro m the
steering whe el.
For detailed information on how to adjust the driver 's seat, see
=> pag e 81 .
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment and improper seating
position can cause serious personal injury.
• Adjust the steering wheel column only when the vehicle is not
moving to prevent loss of vehicle control.
• Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel so that there is a
minimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel=>
page 196, fig. 195. If you cannot maintain this
minimum distance, the airbag system cannot protect you prop
erly.
• If physical limitations prevent you from sitting 10 inches
125
cm) or more from the steering wheel, check with your authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is available .
• If the steering wheel is aligned with your face, the supple
mental driver's airbag cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the steering wheel is aligned with
your chest.
• Always hold the steering wheel with your hands at the 9 o'clock
and 3 o'clock positions to reduce the risk of personal injury if the
driver's airbag deploys.
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands inside the steering wheel rim or on the steering wheel
hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious
injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag
deploys. •
On the road 1111
-------------------'
Applies to v ehi cles : wi th ele ctr ic ally a djuste d steer in g wh eel
Electrically adjusted steering vvheel
The he ight and re ach of the stee ring whe el can b e electr i
cally adj uste d to s uit t he d river .
First, adjust the d river's seat co rrect ly.
Height adjustment
Fig . 115 Switch for
steering wheel adjust ·
ment
- Push the switch@ up or dow n=> fig. 1 15. T he steer ing
w heel he ight cha nges for a s long as you pre ss th e swi tc h.
Reach adjustment
- Push the s witch @ forw ard o r backwar d => fig . 11 5. T h e
s teer ing whe el reach ch an ges for as lon g as you pr ess
t h e s wit c h.
Ther e must b e at least 1 O in ches ( 25 cml betw een your chest and the
cen te r of th e st eer ing w hee l. If you cannot sit mo re than 1 0 in che s
(2 5 cm) from the stee rin g wh eel, se e if adaptive equ ipm ent is ava il
able to help you reach the pedals and increase the distance from the
st eeri ng whe el.
F or detailed info rmation on how to ad just the drive r's seat, see
~ pa ge 81.
Con tro ls and eq uip
ment
T he steering whe el can be adj ust ed even when the ignition is turn ed
O ff . F or vehi cle s with seat memory , the i ndividu al p osi tions fo r the
st eer in g w he el can be sto red a lon g w ith th e seat position.
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment and improper seating
position can cause serious personal injury.
• Adjust the steering wheel column only when the vehicle is not
moving to prevent loss of vehicle control .
• Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel so that there is a
minimum of 10 inches (25 cm ) between your chest and the
steering wheel~
page 196 , fig. 195 . If you cannot maintain this
minimum distance , the airbag system cannot protect you prop
erly .
• If physical limitations prevent you from sitting 1 O inches (25
cml or more from the steering wheel , check with your authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is available.
• If the steering wheel is aligned with your face, the supple
mental driver's airbag cannot provide as much protection in an
accident . Always make sure that the steering wheel is aligned with
your chest .
• Always hold the steering wheel with your hands at the 9 o'clock
and 3 o'clock positions to reduce the risk of personal injury if the
driver's airbag deploys .
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock position or with
your hands inside the steering wheel rim or on the steer ing wheel
hub . Holding the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious
injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag
deploys. •
Vehicle care I I Technical data
........ _o_ r_iv _i_ n""' g::;._ S_ a_f _e _ly =---------------------------------------------------
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information , tips, instructions and
warnings that you need to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others. We have summarized here
what you need to know about safety belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Always
observe the information and warnings in this section -for your own
safety as well as that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all model versions of your
vehicle. Some of the features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may be optional equip
ment on others. If you are not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
& WARNING
• Always make sure that you follow the instructions and heed
the WARNINGS in this Manual. It is in your interest and in the interest of your passengers.
• Always keep the complete Owner's Literature in your Audi
when you lend or sell your vehicle so that this important informa
tion will always be available to the driver and passengers.
• Always keep the Owner's literature handy so that you can find
it easily if you have questions. •
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant restraint
system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury
in a wide variety of accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passengers should not be left to
chance. Advances in technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an accident. The
following is a list of just a few of the safety features in your Audi:
• sophisticated safety belts for driver and all passenger seating
positions,
• safety belt pretensioners,
• safety belt force limiters for the front seats,
• safety belt height adjustment systems for the front seats,
• automatic safety belt height adjustment for the rear seats,
• front airbags,
• side airbags in the front seats and outer rear seats*,
• side curtain airbags,
• special LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
• head restraints for each seating position,
• adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work together as a system to
help protect you and your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if they are not always correctly adjusted and correctly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility! •
__________________________________________________ D _r_iv _ in_ g=- S_ a_f _e _l~ y __ lffllll
& 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 . 197 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 199, fig. 197.
Adjusting head restraints => page 86.
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 238. •
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 also increase
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
___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
-Insert t he tongue into the correct b uckle of y our seat
unt il you h ea r it la tc h securely~ fig. 205.
Pull on t he belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
Aut om ati c sa fe ty belt re tra cto rs
Eve ry safety be lt is equipped with an automatic belt retractor on the
shoulder belt. This feature locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may a lso 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.
Safety belt prete nsi oners
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pretensioner that he lps to
tighten the sa fety be lt and remove slack when the pretensioner is
activated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a
warning light=>
page 18 .
Swit chable locking fe ature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver sea t is equipped with
a switchab le locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt
is used to a ttach a chi ld safe ty sea t. Be sure to read the important
information about this feature=>
page 248.
& WARNING
Improper ly positioned safet y belts can cause seriou s inj ury in an
accident =>
page 210 , "S afety belt po sitio n".
• Safet y belts offer opt imum protection on ly when the seat back
i s upright and belt s are properly po sition ed on t he bod y.
• Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to whi ch the
c enter r ear sa fet y belt i s atta ched i s sec ure ly lat ched whe nev er
the rear center saf ety belt i s being us ed. If the ba ckrest is not
s ecu rely lat ched, the pas senge r will mo ve fo rward with the back
rest dur ing sudden braking , in a sudden maneu ver and e spec iall y
in a cra sh.
& W AR N ING (continu ed )
• Never attach the safety belt to the buck le for anothe r seat .
Atta ch ing th e be lt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
e ffe cti venes s and can ca use seriou s per son al injur y.
• A p assenger who i s not prope rly re str ained can be s eriousl y
injured by the saf ety belt it self wh en it m ove s from the stronger
p art s of the body into criti ca l area s like the abd omen .
• Alway s lock the convert ible lo ck ing retractor when you are
s ecu ring a ch ild safety se at in the v ehi cle
=> page 2 50. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt posi ti o n is the key to getting maximum
protecti on f rom safety be lts.
Fig . 2 06 He ad r est ra in t
an d sa fe ty b elt p osi
tion a s seen from th e
sid e
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust the position of
the safety belt to match your body size .
• belt height adjustment for the front seats,
• automatic belt height adjustment for the rear seats.
-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 209. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 208 Releasing the
tongue from the buckle
-Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 208. The
belt tongue will spring out of the buckle=>& .
- Let the be lt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt
tongue to its stowed pos ition.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed .•
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjustment, the three
point safety belt strap routing can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to body size.
Fig . 209 Safety belt
height adjustment for
the front seats -loop
around fittings
Push the loop -around fittings up => fig. 209 @ , or
- squeeze together the G) button , and push the loop
around f ittings
down @.
- Pull the belt to make sure that the upper attachment is
properly e ngaged .
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important informa
tion
~ page 208.
[ i ] Tips
• The shoulder belt part should route approximately over the
middle of you r shoulder -und er no circu mstanc es should it route
over your neck and throat area
~ & in "Safety belt position" on
pag e21Q
~
Safety belts -----------------=------
• With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to adjust the position of the safety belts. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju
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 posit ions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and w ill even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body . Improper seating positions also increase
the r isk 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 208. •
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Safety be
lt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt pretensioners . The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear -end collisions
of great severity . This tightens the belt and takes up belt slack::::;,
6
in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretensioner" on page 214.
Taking up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant movement
during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward.
[ i] Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once.
• In minor frontal, side and rear -end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact force, the safety belt preten
sioner are not activated .
• When the safety belt pretensioners are activated, a fine dust is
released. This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are scrapped . A qualified deal
ership is familiar with these regulations and will be pleased to pass
on the information to you.
• Be sure to observe all safety, environmental and other regula
tions if the vehicle or individual parts of the system, particularly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed . We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this service for you. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical 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