Page 193 of 364

-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
Page 194 of 364

•--=S..:a :..:f..:e :..:t:= Y :....:: b:....:e:..: l:..: t :..::s _____________________________________________ _
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=>
page 191, fig. 187, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops them
- here, the wall =>
page 191, fig. 188.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is
involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30
to 50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000
lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash. Of course,
the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they deter
mine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions.•
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Fig. 189 A driver not
wearing a safety belt Is
violently thrown
forward Fig. 190 A
rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=> fig. 189. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not supposed
to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is equipped
with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehicle
where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly . Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=> fig. 190. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Page 195 of 364

Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision. It's simply not true!
Fig . 1 9 1 Driv er is
c or re ct ly re stra ine d in
a s udden bra k ing
m ane uv er
Safety belts used properly can make a big diffe rence. Safety belts
help to keep p assengers in the ir seats, gradually reduce energy leve ls
applied to the body in an accident, and help prevent the uncontrolled
movemen t that can cause serious injuries . In add ition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit of
being slowed down mo re gent ly or "softly" through the "give" in the
safety belts, crush zones and other safety features engineered into
today 's vehicles. By "absorbing" the k ineti c ene rgy over a longe r
period of time, the safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Al though these exam ples are based on a frontal co llision, safety belts
can also substantia lly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whethe r you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to the corner
store, always bu ckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident statis
ti cs show t hat vehicle occupants properly weari ng s afety belts have a
lower risk of being injured and a much better chance of surviving an
acc iden t. Prope rly usi ng sa fe ty belts a lso great ly increases the ab ility
of the supplemental a irbags to do their job in a collision. For this
reaso n, wearing a safety belt is lega lly requ ired in most countr ies
including much of the United States and Canada.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags, you still have to wear
the safe ty belts provi ded. Fron t airbags, for ex ample, are activa ted
only in some frontal collisions. The front a irbags are not act ivated in
all fronta l co llisions, in side and rear co llisions, in roll overs or i n cases
whe re there is not enough decelerat ion through impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the ot her airbag systems in your
Audi. So, always wear your safety bel t and make sure eve rybody in
your vehicle is properly restrained! •
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned across
the strongest bones of your body.
- Always wear safety belts as illustrated and described in
this chapter.
- Make sure that your safety belts are a lways ready for use
and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them improperly increases
the risk of seriou s personal injury and death. Safety belts can work
onl y when used correctly .
• Always fa sten your safety belts correctly before dr iving off and
m ake sure all passengers are correctly restrained .
• For ma ximum protect ion, safety belts must always be posi
tioned properly on the body .
• Never st rap more than one person , including small ch ildren,
into any belt.
• Never place a safet y belt over a child s itting on you r lap.
• Always keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
veh icle is being driven. .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
Page 196 of 364

___ 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.
Page 197 of 364

_____________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t _y_b _e_lt _ s __ _
& WARNING
• Only your authorized Audi dea ler should work on the system or
remove and in stalling system component s when performing other
work .
• The belt positioners could cause injury or damage if they pin ch
people or obj ects when extending or retracting .•
Fastening safety belts
Sea t fir st -everybod y buckle u p!
Fig. 19 3 Belt buc kle
and ton gue on t he
dr iv er's seat
To prov ide maxim um protection, sa fe ty be lts must a lways be
pos it io ned cor rect ly on t he wear er's bo dy.
- Ad just the front seat and head rest ra int p roper ly
=> page 77, "General recom mendatio ns" .
- Make sure the seat b ack of the rear sea t ben ch is in a n
u pright pos it ion and secu rely latche d in place before us ing
the belt=> &.
- Ho ld the belt by the to ngu e and pu ll it eve nly acros s the
ches t and pelvis=> &.
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
- Ins
ert t he tong ue into the co rrect b uck le of your seat until
yo u h ear it latch securely=> fig. 193 .
- Pull o n th e be lt to make su re th at it is sec urel y la tched in
th e bu ckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Eve ry safety be lt is equipped w ith an automatic belt retracto r o n the
shoulder be lt. T his fea ture loc ks th e be lt when the bel t is pulled out
fast, during hard bra king and in an acc ident. The belt may also lock
w hen you dr ive up or down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.
During norma l dr iv ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are eq uipp ed with a belt pretens ioner that he lps to
ti gh ten the safe ty bel t and r emove slack whe n the preten sio ner i s
act ivated . T he function of the pretensioner is monitored by a war ning
ligh t~
page 14 .
Switchable locking feature
Eve ry sa fety belt except t he one o n the driver sea t is eq uipp ed with a
switchab le locking feat ure that
must be used when t he safety be lt is
used to att ach a child sa fe ty seat . Be s ure to re ad th e im port ant inf or
mation about th is feature~
page 232.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause serious injury in an
accident ~
page 196, "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 move s from the stronger
parts of the body into critical areas like the abdomen . .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Page 198 of 364

.. 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".
Page 199 of 364

-Make sure the seat back of the rear seat bench is in an
upright position and securely latched in place before using
the belt.
- Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis=> fig. 195, =>
&.
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat until
you hear it latch securely=>
page 195, fig. 193.
- Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
& 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
information =>
& in "Fastening safety belts" on page 195. •
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig . 196 Releasing
the tongue from the
buckle
- Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 196. The
belt tongue will spring out of the buckle =>& .
- Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you guide the belt
tongue to its stowed position .
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed. •
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 positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by moving the safety belt to critical •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
Page 200 of 364

___ s_a_ f_ e_ t_ y _ b_e _l_t _s ___________________________________________ _
areas of the body. Improper seating posit ions also increase
the r isk of ser ious i njury a nd death when an air bag de ploys
and strikes an occupan t who is no t in the correc t seat ing posi
t ion. A driver is respons ib le for t he safety of a ll vehicle occu
pants and especially for chi ldren . Therefore:
- Nev er perm it anyo ne to assume an i ncorr ect s ittin g posi
tion in t he veh icle w hile traveling =>&.
& WARNING
Improperly worn safety b elts in crease the ri sk of seri ous person al
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
• Alway s make sure th at all vehicl e occupant s 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
information ::::.-
page 193. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a particular
s everity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Th e safety bel ts are eq uipped w ith safety bel t pre tensioners. The
system is activated by sensors in front, s ide and rear-end co llisions of
great severity . This tig htens the belt and takes up bel t slack ~
& in
"Service and disposal of safety be lt pretensioner" . Taking up the slack
helps to red uce forward occupant movement d uring a collision .
0 Note
Never let the be lt remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward .
W Tips
The safety belt p retensioner can only be ac tivated o nce.
• In minor fronta l and side co llisions, in rear -end collisions, in a roll
over and in acc idents involving very litt le impact force, the safety belt
pretensioner are not activated.
• When the safety belt pretensioners are activated, a fine dust is
re lease d. This is normal an d is not caused by a fire in the ve hicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
veh icle o r com ponen ts of the system a re s crapped. An au thor ized
Audi dealer or qualif ied workshop is familiar w it h these reg ulations
and wi ll be pleased to pass on the informatio n to yo u.
• Be sure to observe all safety, enviro nmental and other reg ulat ions
if the vehi cle o r ind iv id ual parts o f the system, p art icularly the s afe ty
be lt or a irbag, are to be d isposed . We recommend you have your
author ized A udi dealer perform this service for yo u.•
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
Th e safety be lt pretensioners are p arts of the safety bel ts on yo ur
Audi. Install ing, remov ing, servic ing or repairing of belt preten
sioners can dam age the safe ty belt sys tem and preven t it from
work ing correctly in a collision .
T here are some important things you have to know to ma ke sure that
the effective ness of t he system will not be impaired and tha t
discar ded components do not cause injury or poll ute the environ
ment.
& WARNING
Improper care , se rvicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of per sonal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
pret ensioner from activating when needed or activating it une x-
pectedly:
9IJ>,