________________________________________________ D_r_iv _ i _n_ g~ S_ a_ fe_ ly __ !II
& WARNING (continued)
• Always adjust the driver's seat and the steering wheel so that
there are at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and the
lower part of the instrument panel.
• Always hold the steering wheel on the outside of the steering
wheel rim with your hands at the
9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions
to help reduce the risk of personal injury if the driver's airbag inflates .
• Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with
your hands at other positions 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 inflates
• Pointing the steering wheel toward your face decreases the
ability of the supplemental driver's airbag to protect you in a colli
sion .
• Always sit in an upright position and never lean against or
place any part of your body too close to the area where the airbags
are located.
• Before driving, always adjust the front seats and head
restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are properly
restrained .
• Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is moving. Your seat
may move unexpectedly and you could lose control of the vehicle.
• Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilted far back! The
farther the backrests are tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper
seating position.
• Children must always ride in child seats=>
page 157. Special
precautions apply when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat =>
page 135. •
Controls and equip
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the ris k of injury in the
event of an accident, we recommend that you adjust the
seat for the front passenger to the following pos ition:
- Move the front passenger seat back as far as possible.
There must be a minimum of 10 inches (25 cm) between
the breastbone and the instrument panel =>
&.
- Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in an upright
position and your back comes in full contact with it
whenever the vehicle is moving.
- Adjust the head restraint so that the upper edge is as
even with the top of your head as possible but not lower
than eye level and so that it is as close to the back of your
head as possible =>
page 119.
-Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the front
passenger seat.
- Fasten and wear safety belts correctly=>
page 129.
For detailed information on how to adjust the front passenger's
seat, see => page 69.
& WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out of position or too
close to the airbag can be seriously injured or killed by the airbag
as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious personal injury : .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Driving Safely 111111 ______________________________________________________ __,::::;..._ _______ _
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. 98 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 ~ fig. 98.
Adjusting head restraints=> page 74.
& 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.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
•
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 157. •
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce the risk of
injury if vehicle occupants ore 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 will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical
areas of the body. Improper seating positions also increase
the risk of serious injury and death when an airbag deploys
and strikes an occupant who is not in the proper seating
position. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
- Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect seating posi
tion when the vehicle is being used~& .
The following bullets list only some sample positions that will
increase the risk of serious injury and death. Our hope is that these .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
---------------------------------------------------=D..:.r..:..iv .:....:..: in..:. 9 ::!-- S .=..::a:..:f...:e :..: l~y ---
& WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss of vehicle control
and increase the risk of serious injury.
• Never place any objects in the driver's footwell . An object could
get into the pedal area and interfere with pedal function. In case
of sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake
or accelerate!
• Always make sure that nothing can fall or move into the
driver's footwell. •
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely attached to
the floor mat fasteners and do not interfere with the free
movement of the pedals.
- Make sure that the floor mats are properly secured and
cannot move and interfere with the pedals =>& .
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area unobstructed and that
are firmly secured so that they cannot slip out of position . You can
obtain suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached to these fasteners .
Properly securing the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into
positions that could interfere with the pedals or impair safe opera
tion of your vehicle in other ways.
& WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a loss of vehicle
control and increase the risk of serious personal injury.
• Always make sure that floor mats are properly secured.
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
& WARNING (continued)
• Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings in the
vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the pedals or the ability to
control the vehicle.
• Never place or install floor mats or other floor coverings on top
of already installed floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal area and interfere with
the pedals.
• Always properly reinstall and secure floor mats that have been
taken out for cleaning.
• Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driver foot
well while the vehicle is moving. Objects can become trapped
under the brake pedal and accelerator pedal causing a loss of
vehicle control. •
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly stowed
and secured in the luggage compartment.
Vehicle care
co N
9
g!
Fig. 99 Safe load posi
tioning: heavy cargo
positioned as far
forward as possible. ..
Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Driving Safely -
----------------
& WARNIN G (continu ed )
to get out . Being tr apped in a vehi cle can lead to serious personal
injury.
• Never let children play in or around the vehicle .
• Never let pa ssengers ride in the lugg age compartment . Vehicle
occupants must always be properly restrained in one of the
vehicle 's seating po sitions.
[ i ] Tips
• Air circu lation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes
to the outside through vents in the trim pane l, on the left side of the
luggage compa rtme nt. Be sure t o keep t hese s lo ts free a nd ope n.
• T he tire pressure must correspond to the load -see the tire pres
sure sticker on driver's side B-pillar. •
Tie-downs
The lu ggag e com part men t is eq uipp ed wit h four tie
d o wns to se cu re l uggag e and other it e ms .
Use the tie -downs to secure your car go properly=> page 121,
"Lo ad in g the luggage com partme nt".
I n a col lision, the laws o f physics mea n tha t even smaller items tha t
are loose in the vehic le will become heavy missiles that can cause
se rious i nju ry . It em s i n t he vehicl e possess e nergy w hich vary with
vehic le speed and the weight of the item. Vehic le speed is the most
s igni ficant factor .
For example, in a frontal co llision at a speed of 30 mph (48 km/h),
the forces acting on a 10 -lb ( 4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that the weight of t he item
would suddenly be about 2 00 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the inju
ries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item fl ying free ly t hrou gh th e passe nge r
compartment could cause in a co llision like this .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
Weak
, damaged or imp roper straps used to secure items to tie
downs can fail during hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury .
• Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure
items to the tie -downs in the luggage compartment to help
prevent items from shifting or flying forward as dangerous
missiles .
• When the rear seat backrest is folded down , always use suit
able mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie -downs
in the luggage compartment to help prevent items from flying
forward as dangerous missiles into the passenger compartment .
• Never attach a child safety seat tether strap to a tie -down. •
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A. If you believe that your vehicle has a defect
which could cause a crash or could cause injury or death , you should immediately inform
the National Highway Traffic Safety Adminis
tration (NHTSA) in addition to notifying Audi of
America , Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar complaints , it may
open an investigation, and if it finds that a
safety defects exists in a group of vehicles , it
may order a recall and remedy campaign.
However, NHTSA cannot become involved in ..,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Safety belts -----------------=------
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are necessary, how they work and how to adjust and wear them correctly.
- Read all the information that follows and heed all of the
instructions and WARNINGS.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death.
• Safety belts are the single most effective means available to
reduce the risk of serious injury and death in automobile acci
dents. For your protection and that of your passengers, always
correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
• Pregnant women, injured, or physically impaired persons must
also use safety belts . Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not wear safety belts. The
best way to protect a fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy. •
Number of seats
Your Audi TI Coupe has two seating positions in the front and two
height-limited seating positions in the rear. Each seating position
has a safety belt. The rear seat area in your Audi TT Coupe does not
have enough room for passengers of all sizes. For reasons of safety,
Controls and equip ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
no person taller than 4'11" (1.5 meters) should ever ride in the rear
seat area.
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of serious personal injury and death.
• Never strap more than one person, including small children,
into any belt. It is especially dangerous to place a safety belt over
a child sitting on your lap.
• Never let more people ride in the vehicle than there are safety
belts available.
• Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is properly restrained
with a separate safety belt or child restraint.
• Persons taller than 4'11" (1.5 m) as well as children in booster
seats who are too close to the rear window and roof can suffer
severe head and neck injuries when the rear lid is closed or in a
crash.
• The minimum clearance between the passenger's heads and
the rear window must never - under any circumstances -be less
that 1 inch (2.5 cm.I when the passengers sit fully upright.
• Always make sure that rear seat passengers cannot be struck
when the rear lid is closed. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Safety b elts -----------------=-----
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front and side collisions above a particular severity,
safety belts in use are tensioned automatically.
T he safety belts for the front seating positions are equipped with
safety belt prete nsioners. The system is activated by sensors in
front and side co llisions of great severity. This tightens the belt and
takes up belt slack~
& in "Se rvice and d isposal of safety belt
pretensioner". Taking up the slack he lps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a co llision .
[ i] Tip s
The safety belt p retensione r can on ly be activated once.
• I n minor frontal and side collis ions, in rear -end collisions, in a
rollover and in accidents involving very litt le impact fo rce, the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated.
• When the safety be lt pretensioner is activated, a f ine dust is
released . This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety require ments must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are scrapped. A qualified deal
ership is fami liar with these regulat ions and wil l be p leased to pass
on the information to you.
• Be su re to observe al l safety, env ironmen ta l and othe r regula
tions if the vehicle or individual parts of the system, particu larly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed . We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this service for you. •
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretensioners a
re parts of the safety belts on your
Audi. Insta lling, removing, servicing or repair ing of belt preten
sioners can damage the safety belt system and prevent it from
work ing correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure
that the effect iveness of the sys tem will not be impai red and that
discarded components do not cause injury or pol lute the environ
ment .
& WARNING
Improper ca re, servicing and repair procedure s can increa se the
ri sk of personal injury and death b y preventing a safety belt
preten sioner from a ctivating when needed or activating it unex
pe ctedly :
• The belt preten sioner system can be a ctivated only once.
If belt
preten sioner s ha ve been a ctivated , the syste m mu st be repla ced .
• Never repair , adju st, or change any part s of the safety belt
system.
• Safety belt system s including safety belt preten sioners cannot
be repai red . S peci al pro cedures are required for removal , installa
tion and di spo sal of thi s syste m .
• For an y work on the s afety belt system, we strongl y re com
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified techni
c ia n who h as an Audi approved repa ir m anual , train ing and spe cia l
equipment nece ssary .
W For the sa ke of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretensioners might be c lassified
as Perchlorate Material -special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo rate . When the vehicle or ..,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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