
_____________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t _y _b_ e_lt _ s __ _
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 has a total of four seating positions: two in the front and
two in the rear . Each seating position has a safety belt .
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& 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. •
Safety belt warning light t
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver and (on
USA models only) front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
Before driving off, always:
Fig. 167 Safety belt
warning light in the
instrument cluster -
enlarged
- Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are wearing it
properly .
IJ,,
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- Make sure that your passengers also buckle up a nd prop
erly wear their safety belts .
- Protect your children wi th a child restraint system appro-
p ria te for the siz e and age of th e ch ild ren.
The warn ing light ~ in the instrument cluster lights up when the igni
tion is sw itched on as a reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion, you w ill hear a wa rning tone for a certa in period of t im e.
Fasten your safety belt now and m ake sure that your passengers
also properly put on their safety belt s.•
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the Law of physics
Frontal crashes c reate very s trong f orces for people
riding in vehicles.
Fig . 16 8 Unbelted
occu pa nt s in a v ehi cle
h ea ding f or a w all Fig. 169 Th
e veh icl e
c ra she s into the wall
The p hys ica l pr inc iples are simple. Both the vehicle and the passen
gers possess energy wh ich var ies wit h veh icle speed and body weight.
Enginee rs call th is ene rgy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the veh icle and the greater the vehicle's
we igh t, the more e ne rgy tha t has to be "abso rbed" in t he crash.
Vehicle speed is the most sign ificant factor.
If the speed doubles
from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passenge rs of this vehicle a re not using safety belts
=> fig. 168, they w ill keep moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving j ust before the crash, unt il some thing stops them· here, the
wall => fig . 169 .
Th e same principles apply to people sitting in a vehi cle 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 ca n reach one ton (2,000
lbs . or 1,000 kg) or mo re . At greate r speeds, these forces are eve n
higher.
People who do not use safety bel ts are also not at ta ched to their
vehicle . In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
t he speed the ir veh icle w as t ravelling just befo re the crash. O f course,
the laws of p hys ics don 't just apply to frontal collis ions, they deter
mine wha t happens in a ll kinds of accidents and collisions .•

& WARNING (continued)
• Never use 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, have belts replaced
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
• Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident
mu st be replaced 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, disassemble, or try to repair the safety
belts yourself.
• Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly
and can impair the function of the inertia reel=>
page 267,
"Sa fety belts". •
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Safety belts
Fig. 173 Belt buckle
and tongue on the
driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts must always be
pos itioned correctly on the wearer's body.
- Adjust the front seat and head restraint properly
=> page 73, "General recommendations" .
- Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is in an
upr ight 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 =>& .
- Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of your seat until
you hear it latch securely => fig. 173.
- Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely latched in
the buckle.
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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 172,
-Adjust the front passenger's seat properly~ page 74,
- Wear safety belts properly~
page 184,
-Always properly use the proper child restraint to protect
children~
page 215.
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 172, "Proper occupant seating positions". For
details on the operation of the seat adjustment controls=>
page 76.
It's especially important that children are properly restrained
=>
page 215.
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 _,.

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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 215.
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 217.
The 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 201, "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 217), 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 172, " 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 .,.

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defined in the electronic contro l unit~ page 202, "PASSE NGER
AI RB AG OF F ligh t".
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 21 5, "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 201, "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 :
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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 217, "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 ...
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listing of the child res traints that were used to certify your vehicle's
compliance with the US Safety Standard
~ page 217,
• 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
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes on when the elect ronic
cont rol 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 airbag 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 217),
• 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 it h their back against a
non -recli ned b ackrest w it h t heir 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 t he "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 201
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 su re to heed all of the WAR NINGS.
& WARNING
To reduc e the risk of injur y when an airbag inflates , always wear
s a fety belt s properly.
• If you are un restrained, leaning forward, s itting sideways or
out of po sit ion in any way , your risk of injury is 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~
page 190.
& 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 inflates - 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 assenger seat , nobody
can absolutely gua rantee th at deployment is imposs ible in all
con ceivabl e situation s that may happen during the u seful life of
your vehicle . .,_