___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
Safety belt warning light 4
Your vehicle has a warn ing system for the driver and front
seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Before driving off , alw ays:
Fig . 100 Saf ety belt
w arn ing li ght in t he
in strum ent cluster -
e n la rge d
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you wear it prop
erly.
Make sure that your passengers also buckle up and prop
erly wea r th eir safety be lts.
- Protect children wit h a c hild restraint sys tem appropria te
for the s ize and age.
The warning light tin the instrument cluster lights up when the
ignition is swi tched 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 ins trumen t
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 b elt,
the warning tone wil l 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 vehi
cle 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 repea t this reminder sequence for a maximum of 2 minu tes . At
speeds below 5 mph, the warning ton e will not sound .
Fas ten your safety belt and m ake sur e that your p as senger s al so
properly p ut o n the ir safety belt s.
& WARNING
• Saf ety belt s a re the single mo st effe ctive m ean s available to
r e d uc e the ri sk of ser iou s inj ury a nd death i n aut omobi le a cci
den ts. For your protection and that of your p assengers, always
corre ctly we ar sa fe ty belt s when the veh icle i s m oving.
• Failure to pay att ent ion t o th e w arning light that come on,
c ould l ead t o per sona l in jur y. •
Why safety be lts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for people riding
in vehicles.
--
Fig. 101 Unbe lt ed
o cc up ant s in a vehi cle
h ead ing fo r a w all
~
- Make sure that your safety be lt s ar e alw ay s re ady fo r use
a nd are not damaged.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of ser ious personal injury and death . Safety belts can work
only when used correctly.
• Always fasten your safety belts correctly before driving off and
make sure all passengers are properly restrained .
• For maximum protection , safety belts must always be posi
tioned correctly on the body.
• Never strap more than one person , including small children ,
into any single safety belt .
• Never place a safety belt over a child sitting on your lap.
• Always keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven.
• 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 redu ce their effectiveness .
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
bu ckle 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.
Safety first
Safety belts
& WARNING !continued)
• 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
authori zed 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 .
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel
=> page 209 , "Safety
belts" .•
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
S eat firs t - everybo dy b uckle u p!
Vehicle care I I
Fig . 106 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver 's seat
Iii>-
irechnical data
___ S_a_ f_ e_ t-= y_ b_e_ l_ t _s _______________________________________________ _
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 69, "General recommendations ".
Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis=>&.
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat
until you hear it latch securely => page
129, fig. 106.
Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt 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 also lock
when you drive up or down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped with a belt preten
sion er that helps to tighten the safety belt and remove slack when
the pretensioner is activated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light:::::,
page 78, "Airbag system
t!A (USA models) /!.ir (Canada models)".
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver seat is equipped with
a switchable locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt
is used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important informa
tion about this feature:::::,
page 168.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious injury in an
accident :::::,
page 130, "Safety belt position".
• Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seat back
is upright and belts are properly positioned on the body.
• Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat.
Attaching the belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious personal injury.
• A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously
injured by the safety belt itself when it moves from the stronger
parts of the body into critical areas like the abdomen.
• Always lock the convertible locking retractor when you are
securing a child seat in the vehicle:::::,
page 170. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
protection f ram safety belts.
Fig. 107 Head restraint
and safety belt posi
tion as seen from the
side
Use the height adjustment to change the position of the shoulder
straps of the front seat safety belts.
~
Airbag system -----------------=~-
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 116,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 70,
-Wear safety belts properly~ page 128,
- Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 157.
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 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 116, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 70
and=> page 71.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 157.
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 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 __ !II
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 157.
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 159.
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 146, "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 159), 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 116, "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 147 , "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 157, "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 , 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 146, "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 . 110 Location of
driver airbag: in
steering wheel
Airbag system
Fig. 111 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 front 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.
110 and
the airbag for the front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 111. 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 159, "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 159,
• weight less than a threshold level stored in the control unit is
detected on the front passenger seat. .,