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 211 .
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 233, "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
Fore-and-aft adjustment
- Push the switch@forward or backward~ page 86,
fig. 77.
Adjusting seat height
- Pull or push the switch © up or down.
Front seat cushion up/ down
- Press the switch © at the front up or down.
Rear seat cushion up/ down
- Press the switch © at the rear up or down.
Adjusting seatback angle
- Push the switch @ forward or backward.
Adjusting the curvature of the lumbar
support
- Push the switch plate © forward or backward to increase
or reduce the curvature.
Adjusting the height of the lumbar support
- Push the switch plate © up or down to position the curva
ture higher or lower.
& WARNING
• Adjust the driver's seat only when the vehicle is stationary. You
risk an accident otherwise.
• The power adjustment for the front seats also works with the
ignition switched off or with the ignition key removed. For this
reason, children should never be left unattended in the vehicle -
they could be injured!
Controls and equip
ment Safety first
Seats and storage
& WARNING
(continued)
• Exercise caution when adjusting the seat height. Unsupervised
or careless seat adjustment can pinch fingers or hands causing
injuries.
• While the vehicle is moving, the seatbacks of the front seats
must not be inclined too far to the rear because the effectiveness
of the safety belts and the airbag system is severely compromised
- there is a risk of injury.
• To reduce the risk of injury in the case of sudden braking or
accident, front passengers must never ride in a moving vehicle
with the seatback reclined. Safety belts and the airbag system
only offer maximum protection when the seatback is upright and
the safety belts are properly positioned on the body. The more the seatback is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an
incorrect seating position and improperly positioned safety
belts. •
Vehicle care Technical data
Seats and storage
Adjusting front passenger's seat manually
Applies to vehicl es: with manua lly adjustab le passenger seat
Adjustment controls
Various controls on the manual front passenger's seat
provide a wide range for individual adjustments.
(D Adjusting the seatback angle
@ Adjusting the seat height
® Moving the seat forward or backward •
Applies to veh icles : w ith manually adjustable passenger seat
Fig . 78 Adjustment
controls: locations on
front passenger's seat
Adjusting the manual front passenger's
seat
Position, angle and shape of the manual front
passenger's seat can be adjusted to provide safe and
comfortable seating.
Read and heed all WARNINGS :::;, & before you adjust your
seat.
Adjusting the seatback angle
- Lean forward to take your weight off the seatback.
- Turn the hand wheel[):::;,
page 88, fig. 78 in the direction
you want the seatback to tilt.
Adjusting the seat height
- Pull the lever @up and pump it to raise the seat.
-Push the lever down and pump it to lower the seat.
Moving the seat forward or backward
- Lift the lever® and slide the seat to the desired position.
- Release the lever and then move the seat further until you
feel and hear it engage.
& WARNING
• Never adjust the front passenger's seat while the vehicle is
moving. If you do this while the vehicle is moving, you will be out
of position. Always adjust the front passenger's seat when the
vehicle is not moving.
• Be careful when adjusting the seat height. Check to see that no
one is in the way, or serious injury could result!
• To reduce the risk of injury in the case of sudden braking or
accident, front passengers must never ride in a moving vehicle
with the seatback reclined. Safety belts and the airbag system
only offer maximum protection when the seatback is upright and
the safety belts are properly positioned on the body. The more the
seatback is reclined, the greater the risk of personal injury from an
incorrect seating position and improperly positioned safety
belts! •
should be level with the top of the head. If that is not
possible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it is as close
to this position as possible~
page 194, "Proper adjustment
of head restraints".
To move the head restraint up, hold it at the sides with
both hands and slide it upward.
- To move the head restraint down, press the button and
slide the head restraint downward ::::> fig. 85 .
Refer to~ page 194, "Proper adjustment of head restraints" for
guidelines on how to adjust the height of the front head restraints to
suit the occupant's body size .
& WARNING
• Driving without head restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of serious or fatal neck
injury dramatically.
• Read and heed all WARNINGS ~
page 194.
[ i] Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and safety belts are an extremely
effective combination of safety features. •
Contro ls a nd e quip
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration
Rear head restraints Seats and storage
Fig. 86 Rear
seat:
outer head restraint
Fig. 87 Rear seat:
center head restraint
If there are passengers in the rear seat, fold the head
restraints up on the occupied seats or slide the center head
restraint upward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting the outer head restraints
- To fold the head restraint out, pull on the tab::::> fig . 86.
- To fold the head restraint up, tilt it upward until you feel
it click into place.
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
On the road Ill _______________ __.
Applies to veh icles : w ith electrically adju stab le steer ing wheel
Electrically adjustable steering wheel
The height and reach of the stee ring wheel ca n be ele ctri
c ally adj usted to sui t th e d river.
Firs t, a djust t he dr iver's se at correct ly.
Height adjustment
Fig . 123 Sw itch for
s teering whee l ad ju st
ment
- Push t he s witch © up or down=> fig. 12 3. The st ee ring
w he el heig ht chang es f or as long as you press t he swi tch .
Reach adjustment
- Push t he switc h© forward or backward=> fig . 123 . T he
ste ering w hee l reac h changes for as long as you press the
swi tch .
The re m ust be at least 10 inches (25 cm) between you r chest and the
cen ter of the steering whee l. If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel, see if adapt ive equ ipment is ava il
able to h elp you reach the pedals and increase the distance from the
steeri ng wheel.
For detailed information on how to adjust the dr iver 's seat , see
~ page 86.
Con tro ls a nd e quip
m en t Vehicle
OP-eration
The steering wheel ca n be adjusted even when the ign ition is turned
O ff. For veh icles with sea t memory, the individu al pos it io ns for the
steer ing wheel can be sto red along with t he seat pos it ion.
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjustment and imprope r seating
position can cau se seriou s per sonal injury.
• Adjust the steering wheel column only when the vehicle i s not
moving to prevent loss of vehicle control.
• Adjust the driver 's seat or steering wheel so that there is a
minimum of 10 in ches (25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel~
page 192, fig. 186. If you cannot maintain this
minimum distance , the airbag system cannot prote ct you prop
erly.
• If phy sical limitations prevent you from sitting 10 inches (25
cm ) or more from the steering wheel, check with you r authorized
Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is available .
• If the steering wheel is aligned with your face , the supple·
mental driver 's airbag cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the steering wheel is aligned with
your che st.
• Always hold the steering wheel with your hands at the 9 o'clock
and 3 o'clock po sition s to reduce the risk of personal injury if the
drive r'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 steering wheel
hub. Holding the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious
injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag
deploy s.•
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
___ s_ a_ f_ e_ t_ y~ b_ e_ lt_s _____________________________________________ _
- Insert t he tongue into the correct buck le of your seat until
you hear it latch secure ly==> fig. 195 .
- Pull on the be lt to make sure tha t it is secure ly la tched in
the buck le.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety be lt is equipped with an automatic be lt retractor on the
shoulder be lt. This feat ure locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an acc ident. The belt may also lock
w hen you dr ive up or dow n a steep hill or throug h a sharp curve.
Dur ing normal driv ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped w ith a belt pretensioner that helps to
t ighten the safety be lt and remove sla ck when the p re tensioner is
act ivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn ing
light =>
page 17.
Switchable locking feature
Every sa fety be lt ex ce pt t he one on the driver sea t is eq uipped wi th a
switchab le locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to at tach a child safety seat. Be s ure to read t he importa nt info r
mation about this feature=>
page 243.
& WARNING
Imp roperly positioned safety belts can c au se se rious injury in a n
accident =>
page 206, "Safety b elt po sition ".
• Safety belts offer optimum protection only when the seatback
i s upr ight and belts are properly positioned on the body .
• Always make sure th at the rear seat backre st to which the
center rear safety belt is attached i s secur ely latched when ever the
rear cente r sa fety belt is be ing u sed . If the ba ckre st is not securely
latched, the pas senger will move forward with th e backre st during
sudde n braking, in a sudden maneuve r and especiall y in a crash .
& WARNING (continued )
• Never attach the safety belt to the buckle fo r another seat .
Attaching the belt to the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious personal injury.
• A pass enger who i s not properly restrained can be seriou sly
i njured by the safety belt itself when it mo ves from the stronger
part s of the body into critical area s like the abdomen.
• Alway s loc k the convertible locking retractor when you a re
securing a child safety seat in the vehicle=>
page 245. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maximum
pro tection from safety belts .
Fig. 196 Hea d
r e str aint a nd safet y
belt po sit ion a s seen
from the side
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust the position of the
safety belt to match your bo dy size.
• belt h eigh t adjustment for the front seats and the oute r seat ing
positions in the second row seating,
• height-ad justable front seats. .,
•--=S..:a :..:f..:e :..:t:= Y :....:: b:....:e:..: l:..: t :..::s _____________________________________________ _
& 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 205. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 198 Releasing
the tongue from the
buckle
- Push the red release button on the buckle=> fig. 198. 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.
On vehicles with third row seat* : an unfastened safety belt can be
secured in the retaining clip in the luggage compartment side trim. In
this way, the luggage compartment cover can be removed without
obstruction. Also, the belt tongue height can be adjusted so that luggage compartment can be loaded without obstruction with the
backrest folded
forward.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is moving. Doing so
will increase your risk of being injured or killed.•
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjustment, the
three point safety belt strap routing can be fitted to the
shoulder area, according to body size .
Fig. 199 Safety belt
height adjustment -
loop-around fittings
-Push the loop-around fittings up => fig. 199 @ , or
- squeeze together the© button, and push the loop-
around fittings
down @.
- Pull the belt to make sure that the upper attachment is
properly engaged.
& WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important infor- mation :::;:,
page 204. .,
_____________________________________________ S_a _f _e _t _y _b_ e_lt _ s __ _
[I) Tips
• T he shoulder belt part shou ld route approximate ly over the
middle of your shoulder -under no circumstances shou ld it route over
you r neck a nd throat area~
& in "Safety belt position" on page 206 .
• With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also
be used to adjust the position of the safety belts. •
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause severe inju
nes.
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
ris k 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 str ikes 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
Impr ope rly w orn safet y belts inc re a se the ris k of se rious pe rsonal
injur y and de ath when ever a vehi cle i s bei ng u sed.
• Alw ay s m ake sure th at all vehicle occup ants are corre ctl y
r es trained an d stay in a correct seating po sition wh enever the
ve hicle is being used.
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WA
RNING (continu ed)
• Alw ays re ad and heed all WARNINGS and o ther imp ort ant
information ~
page 204. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a particular
severity and in a rollover, safety belts ore tensioned auto matically.
The safety belts are equ ipped with safety belt pretensioners. The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great sever ity and in a rollove r. This tightens the belt and takes up
belt slack ~
& in "Service and disposal of safety belt pretens ioner"
on
page 210. Ta king up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
0 Note
Never let the belt rema in over a rear seatback that has been folded
forward .
[ i ] Tips
Th e safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once .
• In m inor fronta l and side collisions, in rear-end coll isions and in
acc idents involving very little impact force, the safety belt preten
sioner are not activated.
• Whe n the safety belt p retensioners are activated, a fine dust is
re leased. This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle.
• T he relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle or components of the system are s crapped. An authori zed
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data