2011 AUDI S6 seats

Because the passengers of this vehicle are not using safety belts
=> page 188, fig. 171, they will keep moving at the same speed the
vehicle was moving just before the crash, until something stops them
- here, the wall =>
page 188, fig. 172.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a vehicle that is
involved in a frontal collision. Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30
to SO km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (2,000
lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher .
People who do not use safety belts are also not attached to their
vehicle. In a frontal collision they will also keep moving forward at
the speed their vehicle was travelling just before the crash . Of course,
the laws of physics don't just apply to frontal collisions, they deter­
mine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions.•
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves
from flying forward and being injured or killed. Always
wear your safety belts!
Safety first
Fig. 173 A driver not
wearing a safety belt is
violently thrown
forward
Vehicle OP-eration
Safety belts
Fig. 174 A rear
passenger not wearing
a safety belt will fly
forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tremendous forces of
impact by holding tight or bracing themselves. Without the benefit
of safety restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant will slam
violently into the steering wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or
whatever else is in the way=> fig. 173. This impact with the vehicle
interior has all the energy they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even when they deploy,
airbags provide only additional protection. Airbags are not supposed
to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is equipped
with airbags, all vehicle occupants, including the driver, must wear safety belts correctly in order to minimize the risk of severe injury or
death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once and that your
safety belts are always there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have already
deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be thrown out of the vehicle
where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to wear safety belts
correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only
themselves but also the driver and other passengers=> fig . 174. In a
frontal collision they will be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat passenger. •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data

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Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to brace the
body in a minor collision . It's simply n ot true!
F ig. 175 Driver is
correct ly re str ain ed in
a s udden b rakin g
m ane uver
Safe ty belts used properly can make a big d ifference. Safe ty belts
help to keep passengers in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, an d help prevent the uncon trolled
movement that can cause serious injuries. In add it ion, safety belts
red uce the danger of be ing t hrown ou t of the vehicle .
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give them the benefit of
being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in the
safety belts, crush zones and othe r saf ety features engine ered into
today's vehicles. By "absorb ing" the kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of time , the safety belts m ake the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Altho ugh these examples are based on a fronta l collision, safety belts
can also s ubstant ially red uce the risk of injury in other ki nds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to the corner
sto re, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Acc ident statis­
tics show that vehicle occupants properly wear ing safety belts have a
lower ris k of bei ng inj ured and a mu ch better cha nce of s urviv ing an
acc ident . Properly using safety belts also greatly increases the ability
of the supp lemen tal air bags to do the ir job in a coll is ion. For this
reason, wearing a safety bel t is lega lly requ ired in most coun tries
including muc h of the Un ited States and Canada. Altho
ugh your Audi is equ ipped with a irbags, you still have to wear
t he safe ty belts provided. Fron t air bags, for ex ample, are a ctiv ate d
only in some frontal collisions . T he front a irbags are not act ivated in
all frontal co llisions, in s ide and rear coll isio ns, in roll overs or in cases
where there is not enough decelerat ion thro ugh impact to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other airbag systems in yo ur
Audi. So, always wea r your safety be lt and make su re everybody in
your vehicle is properly restrained!
Important safety Instructions about safety
belts
Safety b elts 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 always ready for use and are not damaged .
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts o r wearing them improperly inc reases
the risk of s eriou s personal injury and death . Safety belts can work
only when u sed correctl y.
• Alway s fasten your safety belts correctly bef ore driving off and
make sure all passengers are corre ctly restrained.
• For ma ximum protection , safety belts must alw ays be posi ­
ti oned properly on the body.
• Never strap more than one person , including small children ,
into any belt .
• Never place a safety belt o ver a ch ild sitting on you r lap .
• Alway s keep feet in the footwell in front of the seat while the
vehicle is being driven.
~

alll!II Safety belts Pffl _______________ _
-Ins ert t he tongue into the correct buckle of your seat unti l
you hear it latch secure ly=> fig. 176 .
- Pull on t he be lt to make sure t hat it is secure ly latched in
the buck le.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety be lt is equipped with an automatic be lt retractor on the
shoulder bel t. This fea ture 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 s teep hill or throug h a sharp curve.
During norma l dr iving the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety bel ts are equipped w ith a belt pretensioner that helps to
t ighten the s afety be lt and remove sla ck when the pre tensioner is
act ivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn ing
light =>
page 14.
Switchable locking featu re
Eve ry sa fe ty be lt exc ep t the one on the driver sea t is e quipped wi th a
switchable locking feature that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be s ure to read t he import ant info r­
mation about this feature=>
page 229.
& WARNING
Improperly positio ned safety belts can cause serious injury in a n
accident =>
page 192, "Safety belt po sition ".
• Safety belts offer optimum p rote ction onl y when the seat back
i s upright and belts are properly positioned on the body .
• Always make sure th at the rear seat backre st to which the
center rear safety b elt is attached i s securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the ba ckrest is not securely
latch ed, the passenger will move forward with the ba ckrest during
sudden br aking, in a s udden maneu ve r and e speci ally in a crash.
& WARNING (contin u ed )
• Never atta ch the safety belt to the buckle fo r another seat.
Attaching the b elt to the w rong buckle will reduce safety belt
effecti veness and can cause serious personal injury.
• A pass enger who is not properly restr ained can be s eriou sly
injured by the safety belt it self when it move s from the stronger
parts of th e body into critical
areas like the abdomen.
• Alway s lock the convertible locking retractor when y ou are
securing a child safety seat in the vehicle=>
page 231. •
Safety belt position
Correct belt posi tion is the key to get ting maximum
protection from safety belts .
Fig. 17 7 Hea d
re stra int an d safe ty
belt posi tio n as se en
fro m the s ide
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust the position of the
safety belt to match your body size.
• belt height adj ustment for the fro nt seats,
• automatic belt height adjustment for the rear seats .

-Safety belts ----------------
& 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 191. •
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release button only
after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 179 Releasing
the tongue from the
buckle
- Push the red release button on the buckle ~ page 194 ,
fig. 179. The belt tongue will spr ing 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. •
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. 180 Safety belt
height adjustment for
the front seats -loop­
around fittings
-Push the loop-around fittings up~ fig. 180 @, or
- squeeze together the (D 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 190. .,

_____________________________________________ 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 should it route over
you r neck a nd throat area~
& in "Safety belt position" on page 192.
• 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
injury and de ath whenever a vehi cle i s be ing u sed .
• Alway s mak e sure th at all vehicle occupants are corre ctl y
r es trained an d stay in a correct seating po sition wh enever the
v eh icle 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 190. •
Safety belt pretensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear -end collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Th e safety belts are equipped with safety belt p retensioners. The
system is activated by sensors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great sever ity. This tightens th e be lt and ta kes up belt slack~
& in
"Service and disposal of safety belt pretens ioner". Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occ upan t movement during a coll is io n.
0 Note
Never let the bel t remain over a rear seat back that has been folded
forward.
[I) Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be act ivated once.
• In minor fronta l, side and rear -end collis ions, in a rollove r and in
acc idents involving very little impact force, the safety belt preten­
sioner are not activated .
• When the safety belt pretensioners are activated, a fine dust is
re leased. This is norma l and is not ca used by a fire in the vehicle.
• The relevant safety requirements must be observed when the
vehicle o r components of the system a re scrapped. A q ual ified deal­
ersh ip is familiar with these regulat ions and will be pleased to pass on
the information to you .
~
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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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.
S ince th e cir cums tances will vary cons idera bly betw een one co llision
and another, it is not possible to define a range o f vehicle spee ds that
w ill co ver eve ry p oss ible kin d and a ngle o f im pact th at w ill alw ay s
tri gg er the a irba gs. Im portant facto rs inclu de, for examp le, the
n at ure (h ard or s oft) of th e obje ct whi ch th e c ar hits , th e ang le of
impact, vehicle speed, etc. The front air bags will also not inflate in
s ide or r ear 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 rike s or is st ruc k b y ano ther veh icle a fter t he first collision .
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. Th e 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 187 .
& 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 held 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 191, "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_ ir_ b_ a_,,,g '--- s.:.y _s _t_ e _ m ___ _
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
- Be su re to re ad t he i mpo rt a nt i nfo rmation a nd head the
WA RNINGS fo r i mporta nt details about chil dre n and
Advanced Airbags ~
page 219.
Even t hough your ve hicle is eq uipped with an Advanced Airbag
System, ma ke ce rtain that a ll chi ld ren, especia lly those 12 years an d
younger, always r ide in the back seat prope rly rest rained fo r th eir age
and si ze. The airbag on the passenger side makes the front seat a
po tentially da ngerous place fo r a child to r ide. The fro nt seat is not
the safest place for a ch ild in a forward-facing child safety seat. It can
be a very dange rous place fo r an i nfan t or a child in a rearward-fac ing
seat.
Th e Advanced Ai rbag System in your vehicle has been cer tified to
comply with the req uirements of Un ited States Federa l Moto r Veh icle
Sa fety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manu­
factured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be
tu rne d off ("s uppressed") if a c hild up to abou t one ye ar of age
restra ined in o ne of the rear -facing or forward -fac ing infant
restra ints listed in Federa l Moto r Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
whic h the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was cert ified has
been installed on the front passenger seat. For a listing of the ch ild
restra in ts that were used to certify compliance with the US Saf ety
Standard =>
page 221.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t in th e in st rume nt p anel t ells you
when the front Advanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
tur ned off by the ele ct ronic con trol uni t.
Each time you t urn on the ignition, t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a few seconds and:
• will stay on if th e front passenger se at is no t oc cupie d,
Controls and equip­
ment Safety first
Vehicle operation
• will stay on if there is a small ch ild or child restra int on the front
p assenge r se at,
• will go off if the front passenger seat is occup ied by an adult as
reg iste red by t he weight -sens ing mat =>
page 208, "M oni tor ing t he
Advanced Airbag System" .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes o n when t he control unit
de tects a total weight on t he front passenger seat that req uires the
front airbag to be t urned off .
If th e total weight o n the front passenger seat is more than th at of a
typical 1 year-o ld child but less than the weight of a small adult, the
fr on t a ir bag on the passenge r si de c an deploy (t he
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light 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 turned off by the electronic co ntrol unit and can deploy if
the control unit senses an impact t hat meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
• a small child that is heavier than a typical 1 year -old child is on the
front passenger seat (regard less of whether the chi ld is in one of the
child safety seats listed =>
page 221), or
• a child who has outgrown child restraints is on the front passenger
sea t.
If the fro nt passenger a irbag is tur ned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
lig ht comes on in the instr ument cluster an d stays on.
Th e fron t airbag on t he pa sse nger side may
not de ploy ( the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght does not illum inate and stay lit) even
if a small ad ult or teenager, or a passenger who is no t sitting upright
with their back against a non-reclined backrest w ith the ir feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front passenger seat
=>
page 178, " P roper seat ing pos itio n for the dr iver".
If the front passenger ai rbag dep loys, the Federal Standard requires
t he a irbag to mee t the "low risk" deployme nt cr iter ia to reduce the
risk of inj ury through interaction with the a irbag. "Low r isk" deploy­
me nt o ccurs in those cras hes t hat tak e pla ce a t lower decelerat io ns as
I),
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data

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defined in the electronic control unit~ page 209, "PASSENGER AIR
BAG O FF light ".
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant carr ier installed on the
front seat may be struck and knocked out of position by the rapidly
inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal collision. Th e airbag could
greatly reduce the effectiveness of the child restraint and even seri­
ously injure the child during inf lation .
For this reason, and because the back seat is the safest place for chil­
dren -whe n proper ly restrained accord ing to their age and size -we
st rong ly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
~ page 219, "Child Safety".
& 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
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 208 , "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 Audi dealer immedi­
ately.
• 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: