-Safety belts ----------------
Fastening safety
belts
Seat first -everybody buc kle up!
Fig. 192 Bel t buckl e
a n d ton gue on the
d riv er's se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always be
posit ioned cor rectly on the wearer's body.
- Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=>
page 77, "General recommendat ions" .
- Make sure the seatbac k of the rear seat bench is in a n
upright posit ion and securely latched in place before using
the belt=> &.
- Hold the belt by the to ng ue and pu ll it evenly across t he
chest a nd pe lvis=> &.
- Insert the tongue into the corre ct buckle of your seat until
you hea r it latch secu re ly =>
page 194, fig. 192.
- Pull on the be lt to make sure t hat it is secure ly latched i n
the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractor s
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic be lt retractor on the
shoulder be lt . This feat ure locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, d uring hard braking and in an acc ident. The belt may also lock when you dr
ive up or down a steep hill or throug h a sharp curve .
Dur ing no rma l driv ing the be lt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety bel ts are eq uipped with a belt pretensioner tha t he lps to
tighten the safety be lt and remove slack when the pretensioner is
a cti vated. The fun ct ion of the pretensioner is mon itored by a w arning
light=>
page 14 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver seat is equ ipped with a
switchab le locking feature that
mu st be used when t he safety be lt i s
used to attach a chi ld safety seat. Be sure to read the important infor
mat ion abou t th is feat ure=>
page 231 .
& WARNING
Improperly po sitioned safety belts can cau se seriou s injury in an
accident
=> page 195 , "Safety belt position".
• Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seatba ck
is upright and belts a re prope rly po sitioned on the body.
• Never attach the safety belt to the buckle f or another seat .
Attach ing the belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safet y belt
effectivenes s and can cau se seriou s personal injury.
• A passenger who i s not p rope rly restrained can be ser iousl y
injured by the safety belt it self wh en it move s from the stronger
parts of the body into critical areas like the abdomen.
• Always lock the convertible locking retractor when you are
s ecuring a child safety seat in the vehicle =>
page 233. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
protection from safety belts.
Fig. 193 Head
restraint and safety
belt pos ition 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 =>
page 195, fig. 193. Pull on the belt to tighten if neces
sary.
• 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=>
page 195, fig. 193. Pull on the
belt to tighten if necessary.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
& WARNING (continued)
• 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 192. •
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. 194 Safety belt
position during preg·
nancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned correctly on the wearer's body ===>
page 195.
- Adjust the front seat and head restraint correctly
===> page 77, "General recommendations".
- Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is in an
upright position and securely latched in place before using
the belt. •
I .
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
.. Safety belts PJWI _______________ _
-Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly across the
chest and pelvis=> fig. 194, => & .
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat until
you hear it latch securely=>
page 194, fig. 192.
- 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 194. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 195 Releasing
the tongue from the
buckle
-Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 195. 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 w ill 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 correct seating posi
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
- Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sitting posi
tion in the vehicle while traveling=>,& .
& WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk of serious personal
injury and death whenever a vehicle is being used.
IJI,
_____________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t _y _b_ e_lt _ s __ l!'II
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Always make sure that all vehicle occupants are correctly
restrained and stay in a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
• Alway s read and heed all WARNINGS and other important
information =>
page 192. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and r ear -en d co llisions abov e a p artic ula r
se verity , safe ty belts a re ten sio ned auto mat ically .
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt p retensioners . T he
sys tem is activ at ed by sen so rs in fro nt, side and rea r-end co llisi ons of
great severity . T h is tightens t he belt and takes up belt slack=>
& in
" S e rvi ce and dispo sal of sa fe ty be lt pr eten sioner" . Tak ing up t he sl ack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement during a coll is io n.
0 Note
N ever let the belt rema in over a rear seatback that has been folded
forward .
[ i ] Tips
T he safety bel t pretensioner can only be activa ted once .
• In m inor frontal and side co llisions, in rear-end collisions, in a roll
over and in acc iden ts invo lving very li ttle im pact force, the sa fe ty belt
pretensioner are not activated.
• Wh en t he safety belt pre ten sio ner s are activ at ed, a fin e dust is
re leased . T hi s is no rma l and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation •
The relevant safety requ irements must be observed when the
veh icle o r com ponen ts of the system a re scrapped. An aut horiz ed
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar w it h these regu lations
and wi ll be p lease d to pass on t he informat ion to you.
• Be sure to observe all safety, e nvironmental and other regu lations
if the ve hicl e or ind iv idual parts o f the sys tem, p articula rly t he s afety
bel t or a irbag, are to be disposed . We recommend you have your
author ized Au di dea le r p erfo rm this service fo r yo u.•
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
Th e safety bel t pre ten sio ners are p arts o f the safe ty belt s on y our
Audi. Installing, remov ing, serv ic ing or repair ing of belt preten
sion ers can da mage the s afety belt sys te m and pr event it fr om
wor king cor rectly in a collision .
T he re are some important things you have to know to ma ke sure t hat
t he e ffective ness of t he sys te m will not be impa ired and t hat
discarde d compo nents do not cause injury or poll ute t he env iron
m ent .
_& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair procedures can increase the
risk of personal injury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed or activating it unex
pectedly:
• The belt pretensioner system can be activated only once. If belt
pretensioners have been activated , the system must be replaced .
• Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of the safety belt
system.
• Safety belt systems including safety belt pretensioners cannot
be repaired . Special procedure s are required for removal, installa -
tion and d isposal of this system. .,_
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
___ s_a_ f_ e_ t_ y _ b_e _l_t _s ___________________________________________ _
& WARNING (continued)
• For any work on the safety belt system , we strongly recom
mend that you see your authorized Audi dealer or qual ified tech
nician who has an Audi app roved repair manual, training and
s pecial equipment necessary .
W For the sake of the environment
Undeployed ai rbag mod ules and pr etensioners might be class ified a s
Perch lorate Material -special handling may app ly, see
www.dtsc.c a.gov/h azardouswaste/pe rchlor ate. Whe n the ve hicle or
parts of t he restraint system i ncludi ng a irbag modu les safety belts
w ith pretens ioners are s crapped, all appl icable laws and reg ulat io ns
must be observed. You r author ized Aud i dealer is familiar with these
req uirements and we recommend that you have your dealer perfo rm
this service for you. •
........ _A_ i_rb _ a_,g,:;._ s_, y'- s_ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
costs o r ev en t he lack of v ehicle da mage is no t necessar ily an ind ica
t ion of whe the r an a irbag should inflat e or not.
It is not poss ible to defi ne a r ange of v ehicle speeds t hat w ill cove r
every possible k ind and a ngle of impact that will a lways t rigger t he
a ir bags, sin ce the c ircum stanc es will vary consider ably be twee n one
co llision and another. Important factors incl ude, fo r exam ple, the
n at ure (h ard or s oft) of th e obje ct whi ch the c ar hits , the ang le of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
s ide o r rear coll isions , or in roll-ove rs.
Always remember: Airbags w ill deploy only once, an d on ly in certa in
kinds of co llisio ns. Your safety be lts are a lways there to offer protec
t ion in those s ituatio ns in which airbags ar e no t sup pose d to d eploy,
or w hen they have alrea dy de ploye d; for examp le, when your ve hicl e
st rikes or is st ruc k by ano ther afte r the first collis io n.
T hi s is just one of the reasons w hy an airbag is a s upplementa ry
restra in t a nd is no t a su bst itute for a safe ty bel t. The air bag sy stem
works most effectively when used with the safety be lts. Therefore,
always p rope rly wear y ou r safety belts => page 189 .
& WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or instrument panel will
decrease the effectiveness of the airbags and will increase the risk
of personal injury in a collision.
• Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to the steering 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 position 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.
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag inflates, always
wear safety belts properly=>
page 193, "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 infl ates .
• Never let children ride unrestrained or improperly restrained in
the vehicle. Adjust the front seats properly.
• Never ride with the backrest reclined.
• Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the
instrument panel =>
page 178.
• Always sit upright with your back against the backrest 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 seriou s injuries to the legs 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 equipment airbags approved by Audi and
installed by a trained technician who has the neces sary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace any airbag in your
vehicle and assure system effectiveness in a crash.
• Never permit salvaged or recycled a irbags to be installed in
your vehicle. •
___ A_ i_r _b _a _, g,:;._ s_, y._ s _ t_e _m ________________________________________________ _
defined in the elect ronic contro l unit~ page 211, "PASSE NGER AIR
BA G OFF l ight ".
Always r emembe r, a c hild safety seat o r infa nt ca rr ie r i nsta lled on th e
fro nt seat may be struc k and k noc ke d out of position by t he ra pidly
i nflat ing pass enge r's air ba g in a fr ontal c oll ision. Th e airba g could
g reat ly re duce the effectiveness o f th e ch ild restraint an d even seri
ousl y injur e th e child d uring inf lation .
For this r easo n, and b eca use the back seat is th e sa fest plac e for chil
dre n -whe n pro per ly restra ined acc ordin g to their age and size -we
s tr ong ly r ecommen d that childr en a lways sit in the back s eat
~ pa ge 22 1, "Child S afety".
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Advanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, 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
passenger's seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag
and cause serious personal injury to the child.
& WARNING
If , in exceptional circumstances , you must install a forward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's seat:
& WARNING (continued)
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Never put the forward-facing child restraint up against or very
near the instrument panel.
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched on.
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light will be displayed whenever a child
restraint is installed on the front passenger seat and the ignition
is switched on .
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on, perform
the checks described~
page 210, "Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System ".
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on .
• Have the airbag system inspected by your 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:
& WARNIN G (con tinued )
• Imprope r in stall ation of child re straints can redu ce their effec·
tiveness or even prevent them from providing any protection.
• An improperl y installed child re straint c an interfere with the
airbag a s it deploy s and seriously injure or even kill the child - even
with an Advanced Airbag Sy stem.
• Always carefully follow the manufacturer 's instruct ions
provided with the child safety seat or carrier.
• Ne ver place additional items on the seat that can increase the
total weight regi stered by the weight-sen sing mat and can cause
injury in a crash .•
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
T he airbag system can p rovide supplemental protection
to properly r estrained front se at oc cupants .
Safety first
Fig . 19 6 Locatio n of
drive r airb ag : in
s tee ring whee l
Vehicle OP-eration
Airbag system
Fig. 19 7 Locati on of
fr on t pass enge r's
a ir bag: in the instru
me nt pa nel
Yo ur vehicle is equi pped with an "Advanced A irbag Syst em" in compli ·
ance with United States Fe dera l Moto r Vehicle Safety Sta ndard
(FMVSS) 2 08 as a pplicable at t he time your vehi cle was manufac
t u red . The system senses the position of the front seats and controls
front a irbag infl ation w ith a va lv e , dep ending on th e distanc e
between the respective seat and the stee ring wheel or instrument
pane l. The safe ty belts fo r the seats have "prete ns ione rs" t hat he lp to
take slack out of the belt system. The p retensioners are also activated
by the elec tron ic control u nit for the air bag sys tem.
T he front s afe ty belts also have load limiters to help red uce the forces
applied to the body in a cras h.
Th e airbag for the driver is in the stee ring whee l hub::::> fig. 196 and
the ai rbag for the front passenger is in the inst rument panel
::::> fig. 19 7. T he ge neral lo cat io n of the air bags is m ark e d "A IRBAG".
Th ere is a lot you need to know about the a irbags in your vehicle. We
urge yo u to read the det ailed in forma tion abou t air bags, sa fety be lts
and child safety in this and the other chap ters tha t make u p the
owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
e xtremely importa nt f or your safety and the saf ety of your pas se n
gers, especially infants and sma ll ch ildren.
& WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data