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
_____________________________________________ 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
-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
___ 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>,
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& WARNING (co ntinued )
• The belt p retensioner system can be activated only once. If belt
preten sioners have been activated, the system must be replaced.
• Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the safety belt
s ystem .
• Safety belt systems including safety belt preten sioners cannot
be repaired. Special procedures are requ ired for removal, installa
tion and dispo sal of this system.
• For any work on the safety belt system , we strongly recom
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qualified tech
nician who has an Audi approved repair manual, training and
special equipment nece ssary .
For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag mo dules and p re tensioners might be class ified as
Perchlorate Material ·special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/pe rchlorate. When the vehicle or
parts of t he rest raint system includi ng ai rbag modu les safety belts
with pretens ioners are sc rapped, all applicable laws and regulat ions
m ust be observe d. Yo ur author ized Au di dealer is f amiliar wi th these
requirements and we recommend that you have your dealer perform
t his servi ce fo r yo u. •
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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costs o r even t he lack of ve hicle damage is not necessarily an ind ica
t ion of w heth er an a irba g should inflat e or not.
It is not poss ible to define a range of ve hicle speeds t hat w ill cover
every possible k ind and a ngle of impact that will always trigger the
a ir bags, sin ce the cir cums ta nc es w ill vary con sid erab ly be twee n one
co llision and another . Important factors inclu de, for exam ple, the
n at ure (h ard or so ft ) of th e obje ct wh ich t he c ar hi ts, the an gle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . T he front airbags w ill also not inflate in
s ide or rear co ll is io ns, or i n roll-o ve rs.
Always remember: Airbags w ill deploy only once, a nd only in certain
kinds of coll isions . Yo ur safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec
ti on in t hose situ ations i n w hich air bags are not s upposed to deploy,
or w hen they have alrea dy de ploye d; for examp le, w hen your ve hicle
st rike s or i s struc k by ano ther afte r the firs t collis io n .
T hi s is just one of the reasons w hy a n airbag is a s upplementary
res tra in t a nd i s no t a su bs titu te for a saf ety bel t. The air bag syste m
works most effective ly whe n used w ith the safety belts . Therefore,
always p rope rly wea r you r sa fety belts ~ page 19 0.
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the r isk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm ) to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel.
• If you cannot sit more than 10 inches (25 cm ) from the
steering wheel, investigate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and increase your seating
distance from the steering wheel.
• If you are unrestrained, leaning forward, sitting sideways or
out of pos ition in any way, your risk of injury is much higher.
• You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if
you are up against the airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly=>
page 194, "Safety belts ".
• Always make certain that children age 12 or younger always
ride in the rear seat. If children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an airbag inflates.
• Never let children r ide unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly .
• Never r ide with the backrest recl ined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel=>
page 178.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backre st of your
seat .
• Never place your feet on the instrument panel or on the seat.
Always keep both feet on the floor in front of the seat to help
prevent serious injuries to the leg s and hips if the airbag inflates .
• Never recline the front passenger 's seat to transport objects .
Items can also move into the area of the side airbag or the front
airbag during braking or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near the
airbags can become projectiles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
& WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
• Use only original equ ipment airbags approved by Aud i and
installed by a trained technician who ha s the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
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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
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& 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