-Make sure that your passengers also buck le up and prop
erly wear the ir safety belts .
- Protect your children with a child restraint system appro-
priat e for the si ze and age of the child ren.
The warn ing light tin the instrument cluster lights up when the igni
tion is switched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion, you wi ll hear a war ning sound.
After the ignition is switched on, the warning tone will come on for abou t 6 seconds along with a t warn ing light in the inst rument
cluster if e ither the driver or (on USA models o nly) front seat
passenge r has not fastened their safety bel t. As soon as the driver
and front seat passenger have fastened the safety belt, the warning
tone will stop and the warning light will go out.
If both the driver and front seat passenger have not buckled- up
within about 24 seconds after the warning tone has stopped, the
wa rning tone w ill sound aga in for about 6 seconds. The warn ing tone
w ill sound repeatedly for about 6 seconds at 24 second interva ls unt il
bo th the driver and fron t passenger have bu ckled -up. The safety belt
warning system is active for about 5 minutes and during this time the
warning light in the instrument cluster wi ll stay on.
Fasten your safety b elt now and make sure that your pa ssengers
also properly put on their safety belt s. •
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for people
riding in vehicles .
Fig. 18 7 Unbe lted
occu pant s in a veh icl e
h ea din g for a wall
Fig . 18 8 T he veh icle
cr ash es into t he wall
Th e physical pr incip les are simple. Bot h the vehicle and the passen
gers possess energy which varies with vehicle speed and body weight.
Enginee rs call th is energy "kine tic en ergy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the veh icle's
weight, the more energy that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If the speed doub les
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to SO km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
~
•
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
___ s_a_ f_ e_ t_y _ b_e _l_t _s ___________________________________________ _
& 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 belt s twisted.
• Never wear belts over rig id or breakable objects in or on your
clothing, such as eye glasses, pen s, keys, etc ., a s these may cause
injury.
• Never allow safety belt s 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 h eavy clothing may interfere with correct
positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of the
sy stem.
• Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the
bu ckle from latching securely.
• Never u se 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, hav e belts replaced
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Safety be lts that have been worn and loaded in an accident
must be repla ced 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 , disas semble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself .
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel ::::>
page 272,
"Safety belts". •
Safety belts
Belt positioner
Th e driver and fr ont passenger se ats are e qui pp ed with
b elt pos itione rs.
Fig. 192 Driver 's seat:
Be lt positioner
Th e fron t seats a re equipped with belt posi tioners so it is easie r to
fasten the safety be lts. The belt posit ioners automatically extend
w hen the door closes and the igni tion swi tch es on=> fig. 192.
T he be lt pos it io ner returns to its starting posit ion aga in when
• the tong ue in the be lt latch engages or the belt was not fastene d
w it hi n 60 s eco nds .
• you switc h the ignition off .
• you open the door.
.. Safety belts PJWI _______________ _
& WARNING (continued)
• Always lock the convertible locking retractor when you are
securing a child safety seat in the vehicle=>
page 234. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
protection from safety belts.
Fig. 194 Head
restraint and safety
belt position as seen
from the side
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust the position of the
safety belt to match your body size.
• height-adjustable front seats.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious personal
injury in an accident.
• The shoulder belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned
over the middle of the occupant's shoulder and never across the
neck or throat.
• The safety belt must lie flat and snug on the occupant's upper
body=> fig. 194. Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
& WARNING (continued)
• The lap belt portion of the safety belt must be positioned as
low as possible across pelvis and never over the abdomen. Make
sure the belt lies flat and snug => fig. 194. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
• A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious injuries by shifting
its position on your body from the strong bones to more vulner
able, soft tissue and cause serious injury.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important
information =>
page 193. •
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure that
expectant mothers always wear safety belts correctly -
throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 195 Safety belt
position during preg
nancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always be
positioned correctly on the wearer's body=>
page 196.
-Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
=>
page 77, "General recommendations".
........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For airbags to
do their job, occupants must always properly wear their
safety belts and be in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passengers, before
driving off, always:
- Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel properly
~ page 178,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 78,
-Wear safety belts properly~ page 193,
-Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 222.
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. Therefore 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 178, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 78.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>page 222.
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 condi
tion that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver seat with
the safety belt properly fastened and reaching the pedals, special
modifications to your vehicle may be necessary .
Contact your authorized Audi dealer, or call Audi Customer Relations
at 1-800-822-2834.
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 windshield 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, repair _,.
........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be sure to read the important information and head the WARNINGS for important detai ls about children and
Advanced Airbags =:>
page 22 2.
Even though your veh icle is eq uipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, make certain that all ch ildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways r ide in the back seat properly rest rained for the ir age
and size . The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a
poten tially dangerous place fo r a child to r ide. The front seat is not
the safest place for a child in a forward-facing c hild safety seat. It can
be a ve ry dange rous place fo r an infant or a child in a rearward-fac ing
seat.
T he Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been cert ified to
comply with the Req uirements of United States Federa l Moto r
Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle
was ma nufactu red .
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be tu rned off ("supp ressed") if a c hild up to abo ut one year o f age
restra ined in one of the rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant
restrain ts listed in Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety Sta ndard 208 with
w hich the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle was certified has
been installed on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the chi ld
restra ints that were used to cert ify complia nce w ith the US Safety
Standard
=> page 224.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t in t he inst rumen t panel tells you
when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger s ide has been
tu rn ed off by the electronic con tro l u nit.
Eac h time you turn on the ign ition, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if th e fron t passenger seat is no t occupied, •
will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child restra int on the front
p assenge r seat,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occup ied by an adult as
reg iste red by the weight-sens ing mat =:>
page 211, "Monitori ng the
Adva nced Airbag System" .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the control unit
detects a tota l we ight on the front passenger seat t hat req uires the
front airbag to be t urned off.
If the tota l we ight on the front passenger sea t is more than th at of a
typical 1 year-old child but less than the weight of a small adu lt, the
front airbag on t he p assenger s ide c an dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
li g ht 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 tu rned off by the e lectron ic control u nit and can deploy if
the contro l unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
For e xample , the a irbag may deploy if:
• a small chi ld that is heavier than a typical 1 year -old child is on the
front passenge r seat (regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed =>
page 224), or
• a chi ld who has outgrown ch ild restra ints is on the front passenger
seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on in the instrument cluster an d stays o n.
Th e front airbag on the passenger side may
not dep loy (t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not illum inate and stay lit) even
if a small adult or teenage r, or a passenger who is no t si tting upright
w ith the ir back against a non-recli ned backrest w it h their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=:>
page 178, " P rope r seat ing pos ition for the dr ive r" .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requ ires
th e airb ag to meet the "low risk" deployment criteria to red uce the
r is k of injury through interaction with the airbag. "Low risk" deploy
ment occurs in those crashes t hat ta ke place a t lower decelerations as .,.
_________________________________________________ A_ ir_ b_ a_,,g :;..__ s-=y '"- s_ t_ e_ m __ _
defined in the electronic contro l unit~ page 212, "PASSENGER AIR
B A G OFF li ght ".
Always remember , a c hild safety seat or infa nt ca rr ie r i nstalled on th e
front seat may be str uck and k noc ked out of position by the ra pidly
in flating p assenge r's ai rbag in a frontal coll is io n. T he a irbag could
great ly reduce the effect iveness of the c hild restraint and even seri
o us ly i njur e the chi ld dur ing inflation.
For this reason, and because t he back seat is the safest place for chil
dren -whe n properly restrained according to their age an d size -we
st rong ly recommend t hat childre n always sit in the back seat
~ page 222, "C hild Safety" .
& 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 inflat ing airbag w ill hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, center armrest, 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
authorized Audi dealer.
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on the front
pa ssenger 's seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag
and cause ser ious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If , in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward-facing
c hild restraint on the front passenger's seat:
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• 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 ad justed 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
re straint 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 211, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restra int 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 authorized Audi
dealer immediately.
• Always carefully follow instructions from child restraint manu
facturers when installing child restraints .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward or
rearward-facing child restraint on the front passenger's seat :
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
_______________________________________________ A_ ir_ b_ a_,,,g ~ s,,._y _s _t_ e _ m ___ _
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental
prot ection .
• Airbag work most effectively when u sed with p roperly worn
safety belts .
• Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that
everybody in your veh icle is properly restrained.
& WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat , especially infants and small
c hildren, will re ceive serious injuries and can even be killed by
being too close to the airbag when it inflates.
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your v ehicle is
designed to turn off the front passenger ai rbag if an infant or a
s mall child i s on the front passenger seat, nobody can ab solutely
guar antee that deployment under these special conditions is
impossible in all conceivable situations that may happen during
the useful life of your veh icle.
• The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the
" low risk" option unde r the U .S . Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is on the front
passenge r 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 alway s rid e in the back properly re strained for
their age and size. •
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle
is equipped with a front Advanced Airbag System in
co mpliance wit h United St ates Feder al Motor Vehicle S afety St andar d
208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was manufactured .
Th e front A dvanced A irbag System supp lements the safety be lts to
prov ide addit ional protection for the dr iver's and front passenge r's
heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags inflate o nly in
frontal i mpacts w he n t he vehicle de ce le ra ti on is high enoug h.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front seat occupants is not
a s ubstitu te for your s afety be lts. R at he r, it is p art o f the ove rall occu
pant restrai nt system in your ve hicle. Always remembe r that the
air bag sys tem can on ly help to protect you, if yo u are s itting upr ight,
wearing your safety be lt and wear ing it properly . This is why you and
your passengers must always be p roper ly restra ined, not just beca use
the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has been cert ified to
meet the " low r is k " requi remen ts for 3 and 6 ye ar-old childr en on the
passenger side and very sma ll adults on the driver side. The low risk
deployme nt criter ia a re in tended to he lp red uce the risk o f inju ry
throug h interaction with the fro nt a irbag tha t can occur, for examp le ,
by being too close to the stee ring wheel an d instr ument panel whe n
t he a irba g inflates.
In addit ion, the system has bee n certified to comply with the
"supp ression " requireme nts of the Safety Sta ndard, to turn off th e
front airbag for infants 12 mo nths old and you nger who are
re strai ned o n the fron t pa ssenge r sea t in child res tra ints that are
listed in the Standard=>
page 224, "Chil d restraints and Advanced
Air bag s".
" Supp ression" requ ires the front a irbag on the passenger side to be
turne d off if:
• a child up to a bout one year o f age is re stra ined on the fron t
passenger seat in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant
restr aints liste d in F ed er al M oto r Ve hicl e Sa fety S tandard 208 with
w hich the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur ve hicle was certified. For a ...
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
ffl..,___A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
listing of the child res traints that were used to certify your vehicle's
compliance with the US Safety Standard
~ page 224,
• weight less than a thresho ld level stored in the contro l unit is
detected on the front passenger seat.
When a perso n is detected on the front passenger seat, weigh ing
more than the tota l weight of a child that is about 1 year old
restra ined in one of the rear-facing or forward-fac ing infant
restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with
w hich the Advanced Ai rbag System in you r ve hicle was cert ified), the
front airbag on the passenger s ide may or may not dep loy .
T he
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG OFF light comes on when the elect ronic
control un it detects a total weight on the front passenger seat that
requires the front airbag to be turned off. If the
PAS SENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the control unit and can deploy if the
cont rol unit senses an impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory .
If the total weight o n the fron t passenge r seat is more than that of a
typical
1 year-old, but less than the weight of a small adult, the fron t
airbag on the passenge r side may deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
F o r example , the ai rbag may deploy if:
• a small chi ld tha t is heavie r th an a typ ica l 1 year-o ld child is on the
front passenger seat (regard less of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed ~
page 224),
• a child who has outgrown child restraints is on the front passenge r
seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG
OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on .
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight does no t ill um inate and s tay lit) if:
• a small adu lt or teenager is on the front passenger seat •
a passenger who is not sitting upr ight w ith their back against a
non-recli ned backrest w ith their fee t on the vehi cle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passe nger seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal Standard requires
the airbag to meet the "low risk" deployment criter ia to help reduce
the risk of inj ury through interaction with the a irbag. "Low r isk"
dep loymen t oc cur s in those crashes t hat take pl ace at lower de celer
ations as defined in the electronic contro l unit.~
page 211
Alway s remember: Even though your ve hicle is eq uipped with
Adva nced A irbags, the safest place for children is properly restra ined
on the back seat. Please be sure to read the important information in
the sections that follow and be sure to heed all of the WAR NINGS.
& WARNING
To reduc e the risk of injur y when an airbag inflates , alwa ys wear
s a fet y belt s properl y.
• If you are un restrained, leaning forward, s itting sideways or
ou t o f po sit ion in any way , your r isk of injury i s much higher .
• You will also receive seriou s injuries and could e ven be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflate s -
even with an Advanced Airbag
~ p age 200.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety seat installed on the front
pa ssenger seat will be seriou sly injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflate s -even with an Ad vanced Airbag S ystem .
• Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is
designed to turn off the front airbag when a rearward-facing child
restraint has been installed on the front p asseng er seat , nobody
can absolutely gua rantee th at deployment i s imposs ible in all
con ceivabl e situation s that may happen during the u seful life of
your vehicle . .,_