
104 Driving Safely
• Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
• Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv ing
~ page 98.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transport objects larger than
-
those fitting completely into the luggage area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the convertible top,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
-Always make sure that the doors, all win-
dows, the convertible top and the rear lid
are securely closed and locked to reduce
the risk of injury when the vehicle is not
being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
@ Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel, on the
left side of the luggage compartment.
Be sure to keep these slots free and
open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar .
The tire pressure label lists the ..,

110 Safety belts
-Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any single
safety belt.
- Neve r place a safety belt over a child sit
t ing on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv
en.
- Never let any person ride with feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury.
- Never wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce their effectiveness.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch
ing securely.
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt. Howev
er, special clips may be required for the
correct use of some child restraint sys
tems.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web
bing, bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt by an a uthor ized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop . Replacement may be necessa- ry
even if damage cannot be clearly seen.
Anchorages that were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repai r the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel
c::> page 172, Safety belts.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 115 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 66, General recommenda
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> .&_.
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c::>fig . 115.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic be lt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.

During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt p re
tensione r that helps to t igh ten the safety be lt
and remove s lack when the pretensione r is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light
¢ page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchab le locking fea
ture that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat . Be s ure to read the
important informat ion about th is f eature
c:;, page 144.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 111, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
-Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat . Attach ing the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effect iveness and ca n cause seri ous per
sonal in jury.
- A passenger who is no t properly rest rain
ed can be se rio usly inju red by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convert ible locking re
tractor when yo u are secur ing a chi ld
seat in the vehicle
c:;, page 146 .
Safety belts 111
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig . 1 16 Head restra int a nd safety be lt pos it io n as
see n fr om t he side
Use the height adjustment to change the posi
tion of the shoulder straps of the fro nt seat
safety belts .
A WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious persona l injury in an acci
dent.
- The shou lder belt portion of the safety
be lt must be posi tioned over the midd le
of the occupant's shoulder and never
across the neck or throat.
- The safety be lt must lie fla t and sn ug on
the occupant's upper body¢
fig. 116.
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
-
- The lap be lt po rtion of the safety belt
must be posit ioned as low as possib le
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 116 . Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its pos it ion on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulne rable , soft tissue and cause ser ious
in jury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 109.

routed around the child restraint as descri
bed in the chi ld restraint manufacturer's
instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety belt for the front passen ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job
~ page 144 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the ch ild and child safety seat are
not being transpo rted on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not b locked. Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenge r sea t back and
forth;
- If a st rap or tether is being used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, ma ke s ure that i t is not so tight tha t it
ca uses the weight -sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actually on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes not come o n
and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the ignition is switched on),
- ta ke the ch ild restraint off the front passen-
ger seat and insta ll it p roperly at one of the
rear seat pos itions. Have the a irb ag system
inspected by your A udi dealer immediately.
- move the chi ld to a rea r seat posi tion and
make su re that the ch ild is p roperly res train
ed in a child restraint that is appropriate for
its size and age .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light shou ld
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and an
ad ult is sitting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat.
If the PASSENGER
AIR B AG O FF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while dr iv ing, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the ad ult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
c u shi on with h is or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
A irbag system 127
~ page 99, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the adult is not tak ing we ight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webbing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in
the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In add ition to the
PA SSEN GER AIR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASS ENGE R AIR BAG O FF or
PASSENGER AIR BAG ON w ill briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster d isp lay . This is to in
form the dr iver of the current front passenge r
a irbag sta tus.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An ai rbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong wi th the Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspected imme
diate ly by yo ur Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, in a rearward -facing child
safety seat or in a forward-facing child re
straint that has not been proper ly installed
-
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed. ~
•
•

Child Safet y 139
Subp art C -Forward-f acing and conv ert ibl e child r estraints
Model
BritaxRoundaboutE9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519
Cosco Summit Deluxe High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Booster 22-209
M anufactured on or after
September 25, 2007
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Evenflo Tribute V 379xxxx
E venflo Medallion 254
-------·-
Evenflo Generations 352xxxx
Grace ComfortSport
----~-,
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Grace Toddler Safety Seat Step 2
Grace Platinum Cargo
--------
& WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on .
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PA S
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on the infla ting airbag
will hit the child safety seat or in fant car
rie r with great force and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer .
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been tested by A udi on ly for the Ad
vanced Airbag function. September 25, 2007
Important safety
instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the dr iver, you are responsible for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chi l
dren:
"' Always use the right ch ild safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c:::;, page 141 .
"'Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufac turer's inst ruct ions on how to ro ute
t he sa fe ty belt proper ly through the c hild
safety seat .
"' When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from mov ing
c:::;, page 144.
"' Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move fo rwa rd o r
sideways mo re tha n one inch ( 2.5 cm).
Always remember : Even tho ugh you r vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
c h ild should always ride in the seat properly
rest rained for its age and s ize.
•
•

-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in a ve
hicle is being used
¢page 107, Safety
belts,
c:;, page 115, Airbag system and
c:;, page 136, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restrain t is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Never ins tall a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If t he PAS
SENGER AI R BAG O FF
light does not
come on and stay on the inflating airbag
will hit the child safety seat or infant ca r
rie r with great fo rce and will smash the
child safety seat and child against the
back rest, door or roof. Have the airbag
s ystem inspected immediately by your
Audi dealer.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
I
Fig. 1 27 Rea rward-faci ng infant seat, proper ly insta l·
led on th e passe nge r seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to insta ll
a ch ild safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
Child Safety 141
safety belt to prevent the child sa fety seat
from moving ¢page 144.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
fu ll weig ht to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
Infants up to about one year
(20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in spec ial infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small chi ldren shou ld r ide on ly in special re
stra ints in wh ic h the child faces the back of
the vehi cle. These infa nt seats support the ba
by's back, nec k and head in a crash
c:;, fig. 12 7.
A WARNING
Not using a child sa fe ty seat, using the
wrong child safety seat o r improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-facing d irection. Such re
straints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- Never install a rearward faci ng child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and s tays on. If t he PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not
come on and stay on the inflating a irbag
wi ll hit the child safety seat or infant car
rier with great force and wi ll smash the
child safety seat and child against th e
backrest, door or roof. Have the airbag
system inspected immediately by your
Aud i dealer .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 107, Safety
belts,~ page 115, Airbag system
and
c:;, page 136, Impor tant things to know.

142 Child Safet y
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs . (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 128 Sche mati c ove rview : in stallat ion o f the seat
u sing t he ve hicle's safety be lt system
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from movi ng
Q page 144.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
Q page 144.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) .
Toddle rs and c hildren who are o lder than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs . (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
a lways be properly restrained in a ch ild safety
seat certi fied for the ir size and weight
Q fig . 128 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide. The front seat is not the safes t
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child safe
ty seat.
It is a very dangero us p lace for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, usi ng the
w ro ng ch ild s afety sea t or improperly in-
-
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal in jury and death in a
collis ion or other emergency situat ion.
- Ch ildren on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously i njured or even k illed when an air
bag inflates . A chi ld in a rearwa rd-facing
child safety seat installed on the front passenger s eat will be s erio usly injured
an d can be killed if the front a irbag in
f lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
Sys tem.
- T he infla ting airbag will h it the c hild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrier wi th grea t
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the back rest, door or
roof.
- Never i nsta ll a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
un less the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on. If the PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag sys
tem inspected immediate ly by yo ur Audi
deale r.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
wh eneve r using a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
9 page 107, Safety
belts,
Q page 115, Airbag system and
Q page 136, Importan t thing s to know .
.8_ WARNING
If excep tional circ ums tan ces require the
use of a fo rward -f a cing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and we ll-being requ ire that the fo llow
in g spec ial precautions be taken:
- Make sure t he forward -facing seat has
been designed and cert ified by its man u
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions prov ided with the c hild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ie r.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen- ge r seat's fo re and aft adjustment range, ,..

and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible before installing the child re
straint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in 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 .
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ~
page 125, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on have the
airbag system inspected immed iate ly by
your Audi dealer.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
~- 9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
Fig. 129 Passe nger seat : ch ild p rop erly rest ra in ed in a
boos ter sea t
Booster seats raise these children up so that
the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronge r parts of their bodies and the safety
belt can he lp pro tec t them in a crash .
• Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a child on a booster seat.
• Always position the shoulder portion of the
safety belt midway over the chi ld's shoulder . Child Safety 143
• Always make sure that the shou lder portion
of the safety belt never rests against or
across the child's neck.
• Always make sure that the ch ild can properly
we ar the lap portion of the belt low across
the th ighs or pelvis and
never over the
stomach or abdomen .
It is usually best to put these children in ap
propr iate booster seats . Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and repo sition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the ch ild's body in the right places . The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
im portant for the child's protect ion, whether
or not a booster seat is used.
Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in . (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle 's three point lap and shoulder belts.
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restra in any child, regard
less of how big the chi ld is. A lways remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
poss ible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety be lt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force . In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect th e occupant
as the occupan t moves forwa rd into the air
bag .
A vehi cle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an
inflating airbag. When an occupa nt i s too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in -
jury.
Ill>