68 Seats and st o ra ge
belts and the airbag system only offe r
maximum protection when the seat back
is u pright and the safety belts are prop
erly positioned on the body . The more
the seatback is reclined, the greater the
risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating pos it ion and improperly posi
t ioned s afety be lts!
Power seats
Adjustment switches
App lies to vehicles: with power seats
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the construction and function of
the seat.
F ig . 7 4 Adju stm en t sw it c h es: locat io ns o n dr ive r seat
Push or pull e ither switch in exactly the same
d irection you like the corresponding part of
the seat to move.
@ Adjusting the lumba r support
¢ page 69
@ Seat adjus tment¢ page 68
© Adjusting the ang le of the seatback
¢ page 69
A WARNING
- Never adjust t he d river's o r front passe n
ger seat wh ile the vehicle is moving . If
yo u do this while t he veh icle is moving,
yo u will be ou t of posi tion. Always adjust
t h e dr ive r's or front passenger se at when
the vehicle is not mov ing.
- B e caref ul when adju sting t he seat
heig ht. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury could result! -
Because the seats can be e lectrically ad
justed with the ignition key removed,
never leave chi ldren unattended in the
veh icle . Unsupervised use of the electric
seat adjustments may ca use serio us in
Jury .
Power seat adjustment
Applies to vehicles: wit h power seats
The switches can be moved in various direc
tions to allow precise adjustment.
Fig. 75 Sea t cus hion ad ju st me nt: s wit c h m oti on s
P ush or p ull the switch i n the same direction
yo u like the sea t cushion to move.
Moving the seat forward and backward ©
.., Press the switc h forward or backward hor i-
zontally ¢& .
Adju sting the seat height@and @
together
.., Pull the sw itch evenly at both ends t o raise
the seat ¢ A.
.., Push the lever evenly at both ends to lower
t he sea t¢ & -
Angling the seat cushion up and down@
or @
.., To angle t he seat cushion up, pull the sw itch
at the fron t only ¢& .
.., Altern ative ly, push the switc h at the rear
only ¢& .
.., To angle the seat c ushion down, push the
sw itch
at the front only¢ A.
.., Alternative ly, pull the sw itch at the rear on-
ly ¢& . ....
A WARNING
-Never adjust the driver's or front passen
ger seat while the vehicle is moving . If
you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of posit ion . Always adjust
the driver's or front passenger 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!
- Because the seats can be elect rically ad
jus ted wi th the ign it ion key removed,
never leave children unattended in the
vehicle. Unsupervised use of th e electric
seat adj ustments may cause serious in
jury .
Adjusting the seatback
Applies to vehicles: with power seats
Fig. 76 Drive r s eat: swit ch for seatb ack adju stment
~ Push or pu ll the switc h in the same direction
you like the seatback to tilt ~
fig. 76.
A WARNING
- Never adjust the seatback while the vehi
cle is moving . If you adjust your seatback
whi le the vehicle is moving, you will be
out of pos ition. Always adjust the seat
back when the vehicle is not mov ing .
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never ride in a moving ve
hicle with the seatback recl ined . Safety
belts and the airbag system only offer
maximum p rotection whe n the seatback
is upright and the safe ty be lts are prop
erly posit ioned on the body . The more
S ea ts a nd s to rage 69
the seatback is reclined, the greater the
risk of persona l injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly posi
tioned safety belts!
Lumbar support
Applies to vehicles: with lumbar support
T he lumbar support can be adju sted to fit the
natural curvature of the occupant 's spine .
Fig . 77 Fro nt seat: sw it c h fo r lumb ar adju stmen t
Adju sting the cur vatur e
~ Push the forward depression on the switch
shell
~ fig . 7 7 to increase backrest curva
ture .
~ Push the re ar depression on the switch shell
to
d ecr eas e backrest curvat ure.
Adju sting the height
~ Push the top dep ression on the switc h shell
to
raise the support in the backrest.
~ Push the bottom depression on the swi tch
shell to
low er the s upport in the backrest .
A WARNING
Never adjust the lumbar suppo rt while the
vehicle is moving.
If you adjust your seat
while the ve hicle is moving, you will be out
of position . Always adjust the lumbar sup
port when the vehicle is not mov ing .
80 On the road
On the road
Steering
Adjusting the steering wheel column
The steering wheel position can be continu
ously adjusted in height and distance .
Fig. 89 Lever under the steer ing co lu m n
First, adjust the driver's seat correctly .
• Push the lever
c::> fig . 89 -Arrow -c::> ,&.
• Move the steer ing wheel to the desired posi
t ion.
• Push the lever against the steering column
until it locks.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be
tween your chest and the center of the steer
i ng wheel. If you cannot sit more than 10 in
ches (25 cm) from the steering whee l, see if
adaptive equipment is available to help you reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steering whee l.
F or detai led information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c::> page 68.
A WARNING
Improper use of steeri ng wheel adjust
ment and improper seating position can
cause serious personal injury.
- Adjust the steer ing whee l co lumn on ly
when the vehicle is not moving to pre
vent loss of veh icle control.
- Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel
so that there is a minimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel
¢ page 99 , fig. 107. If
yo u cannot maintain this min imum dis- tance, the airbag system cannot protect
you proper ly.
- If physical limitations prevent you from
sitting 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check with your au
thorized Audi dealer to see if adaptive equ ipment is ava ilable .
- If the steer ing wheel is aligned with your
face, the supplementa l driver's a irbag
cannot provide as much protection in an
accident . Always make sure that the
steer ing wheel is aligned with your
chest.
- Always hold the steering wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to reduce the risk of persona l injury
if the driver's airbag dep loys .
- Never hold the stee ring wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steeri ng 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 driv
er's airbag deploys.
Ignition lock and
ignition switch
Ignition lock
The ignition key starts or stops the engine.
Fig . 90 Ign iti on lock pos it ions
Igniti on off ©
In pos ition c::> fig . 90 @ both the ignition and
engine are off , and the steering is locked .
T o
loc k th e steering after you have removed
the ignition key, turn the steering whee l in ei
ther direction until you hear it lock into place .
1)),-
98 Driving Safel y
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, a irbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe the info rmat ion
and warn ings in th is sect ion -fo r yo ur own
safety as well as for that of your passengers.
The information in this se ction app lies to all
model ve rsions of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures desc ribed in this sec tions may be
standa rd equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Aud i dealer.
A WARNING
- Make certain that you follow the instruc
t ions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the
interest of your passengers .
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r
mation will a lways be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if yo u have
ques tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a varie ty o f fea tures
avai la bl e to he lp re duce the risk of injury in an accident
. The following is a lis ting o f just a
few of the safety features in your Audi:
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting pos it ions,
- safety belt pre-tensione rs,
- fro nt airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- ad justab le steering column .
T hese ind iv idual safety features can wor k to
ge ther as a sys tem to he lp p rotec t you and
you r passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot wo rk as a system if
they are not always p roper ly adjusted and
properly used!
Safet y is everybody's re sponsibilit y!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For yo ur safe ty and the safety of you r passen
gers,
befor e driving alwa ys:
"' Make s ure that all lights and signa ls are op
erati ng correctly .
"' Ma ke su re t hat the t ire p ressu re is co rrec t.
"' Mak e su re that all windows are clean and a f
ford good vis ibility to the outs ide.
"' Sec ure all luggage and other items caref ully
I:!) page 7 3.
"'Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
"' Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
"' Inst ruct passe ngers to adjust the head re
st raints accord ing to the ir height .
"' Ma ke sur e to use the r igh t chi ld restraint
correc tly to protect c hild ren
¢ page 136,
Child Safety .
"'Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
I:!) page 66,
General recommendations. .,_
100 Driving Safely
• Grasp the top of the steering wheel with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
• Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even with the top of your head as
possible but no lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
t::;> fig. 108 .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
t::;> page 110.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢page 67 .
.&_ WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained .
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect
ed Ly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi
tion .
- Children must always ride in child seats
t::;> page 136. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
t::;> page 115.
Proper seat ing position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even with the top of your head as possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
¢ page 101.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
t::;> page 110.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 66.
A WARNING 1-=
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop
erly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
c> page 136. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
c> page 115.
Driving Safely 101
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations .
Fig. 109 Corre ctl y adju sted head restra int vi ewe d fro m
the side
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection.
.. Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge of the restraint is level with the top of
your head, but no lower than eye level and
so it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c> fig . 109.
Adjusting head restraints c> page 70 .
A WARNING
Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad
justed increases the risk of serious or fatal
neck injuriy dramatically . To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
straint. Each head restraint must be ad
justed according to occupants' size so that the upper edge is as even with the
top of the person's head, but no lower
than eye level and so it is as close to the
back of to the head as possible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
•
•
102 Driving Safel y
must adjust the driver headrest for any
r eason, first stop the vehicle safe ly be
fore attempting to adjust the head re straint.
- Children must always be properly re
strained in a ch ild restraint that is appro
pr iate for their age and s ize <=>
page 136.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated .
Improper seating posit ions can ca use serio us
inj ury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the body . Imprope r seat ing pos itions reduce the
effectiveness of safety be lts and will even in
crease the risk of i njury and death by moving
the safety bel t to critical a rea s of the body .
I mpro per sea ting posit io ns also i ncrease the
ris k of serious injury and dea th when an air
bag de ploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the prope r seat ing pos ition. A drive r is
respons ible for the safety of a ll vehicle occu
pants and especially for c hildren. Therefore:
• Never allow anyone to ass ume an inco rrect
seat ing position when the ve hicle is being
used <=>.&, .
The fo llowing bullets list only some sample
positions that wi ll increase the risk of ser ious
in ju ry and deat h. Our hope is that these exam
p les w ill make you more awa re of seating po
sitions that are dangero us.
The refore, whenever the vehicle is
moving :
- never stand up in t he vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- n ever ride w ith the seatbac k reclined
- n ever lie dow n on t he rear seat
- never lean up aga inst the inst rument pa nel
- never sit o n the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the w indow -
neve r put your feet o ut the window
- neve r pu t your feet on t he instr ument pane l
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cus hion or
back of the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- neve r ride in the ca rgo area
.&_ WARNING
---Im proper sea ting posit ions increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l inju ry and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always ma ke sur e that all vehi cle occ u
pa nts stay in a proper seating position
a nd ar e prop erly rest rained whenever the
veh icle is being used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
.&_ WARNING ~
A lways make sure that the knee airbag can
i nflate witho ut interference. Objects be
tween yourself and the a irbag can increase
the r isk of injury in a n accident by interfer
i ng with the way the airbag deploys or by
b eing pushed into you as the airbag de
pl oys.
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld
rid e in t he footwell in front of the pas
s enger seat. If the ai rbag dep loys, this
c an result in ser ious or fatal in juries.
- No ob jec ts of any kin d should be carried
in the footwell area in fr ont of the driv
er 's or p assenge r's se at. B ulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham
pe r o r prevent proper deployment of the
airbag . Small ob jects can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and inj ure you or your passenge rs.
-
108 Safety belts
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 111 Unbe lted occupa nts in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig . 11 2 The ve hicle c ras hes into t he wa ll.
The physical principles are simp le. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call th is energy ''kinetic en
ergy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doub les from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h) , the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the occupants in this vehicle are not
using safety belts ¢
fig. 111, they will keep
mov ing at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, unti l something
stops them -here, the wall¢
fig. 112 .
The same pr inc iples 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 50
km/h), the forces act ing on the body can reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1
,000 kg) or
more. At h igher speeds, these forces are even
greater.
Peop le who do not use sa fety belts are also
not a ttached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli
sion they wi ll also keep moving forward at t he
speed their vehicle was travell ing just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of acc idents and col
lis ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed . Always wear your safe ty belts!
Fig . 11 3 A driver not wea ring a safety belt is vio le n tl y
t hrown forward
Unbelted occ upants a re not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by hold ing tight
or bracing themse lves. Without the benefit of
safety restra int systems, the unrestrained oc
cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instr ument panel, w indshield, or what
ever else is in the way ¢ fig. 113. This impact
with the veh icle i nte rior has all the energy
t h ey had j ust before the c rash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
Even when they deploy, a irbags provide only
additional prote ction . Airbags a re not sup
posed to deploy in all k inds of accidents. Al
t h ough your Aud i is equipped wi th airbags, all
vehicle occupants, i ncluding the driver, must
wear safety be lts cor rectly in o rder to m ini
mize the risk of severe in jury or death in a
crash .