Seats and storage
General recommendations
Why is your seat adjustment so important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can only provide
maximum protection if the front seats are correctly
adju sted.
Th ere a re various ways of adjusting t he front seats to provide safe and
comfortable support for the driver and the front passenger . Ad just
your seat properly so that :
• you can easily and quickly reach a ll the switc hes and contro ls in the
ins trumen t pa nel
• your body is properly supported thus reducing phys ica l stress and
fatigue
• the safety be lts and airbag system can offer maximum protection
=>
page 190 .
In the following sections, you w ill see exact ly how you can best ad just
your sea ts .
Th ere are special regulations a nd instr uctions for install ing a child
safety seat on the front passenger's sea t. Always follow the informa
tion regarding child safety p rovided in=>
page 215, "Child Safety ".
& WARNING
Incorrect seating posit ion of the dri ver and all other passengers
can result in seriou s personal injury.
• Always keep your feet on the floor when the vehicle is in
motion -never put your feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the window o r on top of the seat cush ion. This applies especially
to the passengers.
If your seating po sition is incorrect, you
increase the ri sk of injury in the case of sudden braking or an acci-
Controls and equip
ment Safety first
Seats and storage
& WARNING
(con tinu ed)
dent . If the airbag inflates and the seating position is incorrect ,
this could result in per sonal injury or even death .
• It is important for both the dri ver and front passenger to keep
a distan ce of at least 10 inche s (25 cm) between themselves and
the steering wheel and /or instrument panel. If you 're sitting any
closer than this , the airbag system cannot protect you properly. In
addition, the front seats and head restraints must be adjusted to
your body height so that they can give you maximum protection .
• Always try to keep as much distance as possible between your
self and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
• Do not adjust the driver's or front passenger 's seat while the
vehicle is moving. You r seat may move unexpectedly , causing
sudden loss of vehicle control and personal injury . If you adjust
your seat while the vehicle is moving , you are out of position. •
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for saf e and
re lax ed driving.
W e recomme nd that you a djust the drive r's sea t in the
f ollowing man ner :
- Ad just the seat in fore and aft direction so that you can
easily pus h the pedals to the floor w hile keeping your
knees slightly bent=>
& in "Why is yo ur seat a djus tme nt
so importa nt?" .
- Adjust the seatback so that when yo u sit with yo ur back
agai nst t he seatback , you can st ill grasp t he top of the
steering w heel. ..,
Vehicle care Technical data
________________________________________________ ..::O ::_ n :...:_ t:::: h:...:.:: e:....'....: ro~ a'.!d :=.._ _J-
On the road
Steering
Manually adjustable steering wheel
The h eight and reac h of th e steering wh eel c an be
a djusted.
First, adjust t he dr iver's se at correct ly.
Fi g. 10 6 Leve r und er
the ste ering column
- Pull the lever:::::, fig. 106 -A rrow-:::::, &.
- M ove t he steeri ng wheel to the d esir ed po sition.
- Push the lever against the steeri ng column un til it loc ks.
T here must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) between your chest and the
cen ter o f the stee ring whee l. If you canno t sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel , see if adaptive equ ipment is avail
able to help you reach the pedals and increase t he distance from the
steering wheel.
For detai led information on how to adjust the dr iver's seat , see
::>page 76.
Con tro ls a nd e quip
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration T
he steering wheel can be adjusted even whe n the ign ition is turned
off. For veh icles with seat memory, the individual positions for the
stee ring wheel ca n be st ored along wi th t he sea t pos it ion.
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment and improper seating
position can cause serious personal injury .
• Adjust the steer ing wheel column only when the vehicle is not
moving to prevent loss of vehicle control.
• Adjust the dri ver's seat or steering wheel so that there is a
minimum of 10 inches (25 cm) between your che st and the
steering wheel=>
page 172, fig. 164. If you cannot maintain th is
minimum distance , the airbag system cannot protect you prop
erly .
• If phy sical limitations prevent you from sitting 10 in ches (25
cm) or more from the steering wheel, check with your authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is available.
• If the steering wheel is al igned w ith your face , the supp le
mental driver 's airbag cannot provide as much protection in an
accident . Always make sure that the steering wheel is aligned with
your chest.
• Always hold the steering wheel with your hands at the 9 o 'clock
and 3 o'clo ck position s to reduce the risk of personal injury if the
driver 's airbag deploys .
• Never hold the steering wheel at the 12 o'clock po sition or with
your hands inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steer ing wheel
hub. Holding the stee ring wheel the wrong way can cause serious
injur ies to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag
deploys. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
........ _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 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 _,.
Alphabetical index -________________ fNi'II
Release lever for hood ...... .. .. .. .. . 274 Safety belts .... ..... ... ......... ... 185
Remote control garage door opener Cleaning ... ................ ..... 267
(Homel ink ®) ........... .... ... . 166 Danger to passengers who do not wear a
Remote control key safety belt ..................... 183
Unlocking and locking ... .. .. ....... 47 Fastening .... .. .... .. ........... 185
Remote rear lid release ........... .. .. 51 Improperly worn · · · · . · · · · · · · · .... 188
Repair manuals ................ ..... 340 Not worn · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · 183
Safety belt position ............. .. 186
Repairs
Airbag system .................. . 204
Rep lacing bulbs ........ .... .. .. .. .. . 327
Replacing tires and wheels ......... .. . 303
Replacing windshield wiper blades ...... 67
Reporting Safety Defects ........ 179, 180
Reset button .......... ...... .. .. .. .. 13
Retractor ....... .. .... .. ... ... ..... 185
Rims Cast alloy .............. .. .... .. . 261
Roof luggage rack Mounting points .................. 89
Roof rack ............. ...... ... . .. .. 88
Roof load . ............. ...... .. .. 90
See also Roof luggage rack .......... 88
s
Safe dr iving habits ............... ... 170
Safety belt position .. .. .. ........ .... 186
Safety belts worn by pregnant women . ..
187
Safety belt pretensioner .. .. ... .... ... 188
Service and disposal ............. . 189
Safety belt warning light . . . . . . . . . 16, 181 Safety instructions
.. .. .. ...... .. . 184
Securing child safety seats . ........ 225
Special considerat ions for pregnant
women ........................ 187
Unfastening .. ................... 188
Warning/indicator light .. ....... .. 181
Why YOU MUST wear them ......... 181
Worn properly .. ..... ......... .. . 183
Safety compliance sticker ............. 336
Safety equipment .... ............. .. 170
Safety features for occupant restraint and
protection ................... .. 170
Safety guidelines Seat adjustment .................. 73
Safety instructions
Engine compartment ... .......... 275
for side curtain airbags ... .. .. ..... 213
for using child safety seats ....... .. 218
for using safety bel ts ...... ...... .. 184
Monitoring the Advanced Airbag System .
203
Seat adjustment Driver's seat .... ....... .... ...... . 73
Easy entry funct ion ............. .. . 78
Easy entry manual function ......... 76
For-and-aft manually .. .. .. ........ 7 5 Front passenger's seat .
... .. .. .. ... 7 4
Front seats ...... ................. 73
Head restraints ................ .. 17 4
Manual . ........... .. .... .. .. .. .. 74
Power ............. .. .... .... .. .. 76
Seat back angle manual ly ....... .. .. 75
Seat height manually ............ .. 75
Seat belts
See Safety belts .................. 181
Seat heating
Front seats ...................... 109
Seat memory ... ...... ............... 78
Seat symmetry ... .. .. ... ... .. .. ... .. 80
Seating capacity ............. ....... 181
Seat ing position
Driver ............. .. .. .. .... .. . 172
Front passenger .. .. ............. . 173
How to adjust the front seats ....... 173
Incorrect seat position . ........... 175
Occupants .................... .. 172
Rear passengers ................. 174
Seats Number of seats . .. ............. . 181
Selective unlock feature ............... 47
Selector lever . ... .. .. ............ .. 152
Emergency release ............... 156
Service and disposal Safety belt pretensioner .......... . 189
Service interval display ................ 23
Service position for windshie ld wipers ... 66
Servotron ic
Power steering ........... ... ... .. 242
SET button . ...... .... .. .. .. .. .. .. .. 11
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data