144 Child Safety
In o rder for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especia l
l y any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
a irbag as poss ible. By keep ing room between
the child's body and the front of the passen
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate com
p letely and provide supplemen tal p rotection
i n cer tain frontal co llisions .
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrect ly installing a
booste r seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or ot her emergency situation. To help re
duce the risk of ser ious personal injury
and/or death:
- Always make sure to position the should
er port ion of the three-po int belt over
the midd le of ch ild's shou lder .
- Never let the shoulder port ion of the belt
rest against or across the neck, face,
chin, or throat of the child .
-Always make sure the lap belt portion of the three-po int be lt is worn snug and
passes as low as possib le across the
c hild's pelvis. Neve r let the belt pass over
the soft abdomen.
- Failure to properly route safe ty belts
over a ch ild 's body will cause severe inju
ries in an acc iden t or other emergency
sit uation
c;, page 10 7.
- Children on t he front seat of any car ,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri
o usly injured or even killed when an air
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
f orward, sitting sideways or o ut o f posi
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re
sult in serious personal injury or death.
-
- If you must insta ll a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on .
- If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, pe rform
the checks descr ibed
¢page 125, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on the infla ting
ai rbag w ill hit the child sa fety seat or in
fant car rier with g reat force and will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof . Have
the airbag system inspected immed iately
by your Audi dea ler.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
c;, page 107, Safety
belts,
c;, page 115, Airbag system and
c;, page 136, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the front passenger can be
locked with the convertible locking retractor
to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the front passenger's seat safety belt have
a convertible locking retractor for ch ild re
stra ints . The safety be lt must be locked so
that be lt webbing cannot unree l. The retrac
tor can be act ivated to lock the safety belt and
prevent the safety be lt webb ing from loosen
ing up during norma l driving. A child safety
seat can only be properly insta lled when the
safety belt is locked so that the chi ld and child
safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
ll-
child should always ride in the seat properly
restrained for its age and size .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re tractor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it .
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop o r in a coll ision
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
f orce and w ill smash t he ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, door or
roof .
- F orward-fac ing ch ild safe ty sea ts or in
f ant ca rriers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may inte rfe re with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the ch ild.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in
ave
hicle is being used¢ page 136 . Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenge r seat
¢ page 116, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
m ust in stal l a forw ard or rearward-f acing
child restrain t on the front passenger's
sea t in except iona l situat ions:
- Whenever a fo rw ard or rearward- facing
child restraint is installed on the fron t
passenge r seat, the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light must come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
Child Sa fet y 145
the checks described ¢ page 125, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on the inflating
airbag w ill hit the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door or roof. Have
the airbag system i nspe cte d immed iate ly
by your Audi de aler.
- I mp roper installation of ch ild restraints
can reduce t heir effec tiveness o r even
preven t them from providing any pro tec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restr aint
can interfere with the airbag as i t de
ploys and seriously injure o r even kil l the
child.
- Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur
er 's instructions p rovi ded with t he chi ld
safety seat or car rier .
- Never p lace additiona l items on the seat
that ca n increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
A WARNING
Forward-facing child rest raints:
- Always make s ure the forward- facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up , against or
very near the in
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat 's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fa cing ch ild restra int. The
b ackrest mus t be ad ju ste d to a n up right
posi tion.
- Ma ke sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and st ays o n all the
time whenever the ignit ion is switched
on. •
•
146 Child Safety
_& WARNING
Rearward -fac ing ch ild restraints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenge r
seat will be seriously injured and can be
ki lled 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 w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, door or
roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances .
- Make sure that the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- Never install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
ligh t comes on and stays on. H the PAS
SEN GER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on have the airbag sys
tem inspected immediately by your Audi
dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child safety seat man ufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
• Place the child restraint on a seat .
• Slow ly pull the be lt
all the way out .
• Route it around or through the child re
stra int be lt path
c::> &_ .
• Push the child safety seat dow n with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight .
• Insert the be lt tongue into t he buckle for
t h at seating position. •
Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the be lt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
• You shou ld hear a "clicking" noise as the
be lt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convert ible lock ing retractor by pu lling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the be lt out of the retractor . The con
ve rtible locking re trac to r i s now activated .
• Ma ke s ure t hat the red release b utton is fac
ing away from the child rest raint so that it
can be unbuckled quic kly.
• Pull on the belt to make sure the safety be lt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2 .5 cm).
_& WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
p roperly installed chi ld restrai nt can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury or deat h in a cr ash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tracto r is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tracto r ca nnot hold the child safety sea t
in place dur ing no rma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fe ty seat firmly
in p lace even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a s udden stop or in a crash .
- Always ma ke sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright pos ition. Otherw ise, the seat
back with the ch ild safety seat attached
to it could fly forward in the event of an
accident o r other emergency situation .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
c::> page 136. Special
p reca utions apply when insta lling a child
safety sea t on the front passenger seat
c::> page 116, Child re straints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
-
158 Driving and en vi ro nm ent
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, or over
curbs, steep ramps, etc ., make certain that
low-lying parts such as spoilers and exhaust
system parts do not bottom out and get dam
aged.
This is especially true for vehicles with low
slung chassis (sports chassis) and fully loaded
vehicles .
Driving through water
on roads
Note the following to avoid vehicle damage
when driving through water, for example on
flooded roads:
- T he water must not be any highe r tha n the
bottom of the vehicle body.
- Do not d rive faster than wa lking speed.
_& WARNING
After d riving through wate r, m ud, slush,
etc., the brakes may be slow to take effect
because o f wet brake rotors and pads . Dry
the brakes first by braking carefully to re
store the full braking effect.
(]) Note
Vehicle components such as the engine,
transmiss ion, suspension or electrical sys
tem can be severely damaged by driving
through water.
- Check the depth of the water before driv
ing through it.
- Do not stop the veh icle, drive in reverse
or switch the engine
off when driving
through water.
- Keep in mind that oncoming vehicles may create waves that raise the water
level and make it too deep for your vehi
cle to drive through safely.
- Avoid driving thro ugh salt water because
it can ca use corrosion.
-
Catalytic converter
It is very important that your emission con
trol system (catalytic converter) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in an environmentally sound manner.
.. Always use lead-free gasoline ¢ page 17 4,
Fuel supply .
.. Never run the tank down all the way to emp
ty.
.. Never put too much motor o il in your eng ine
r::;> page 183, Adding engine oil~-
.. Never try to p ush- or tow-sta rt your vehicle.
The catalytic converter is an efficient "clean
up" dev ice built into the exhaust system of
t h e vehicle. The cata lytic conve rter bu rns
many of the pollutants in the exha ust gas be
f ore they are re leased into the atmosphere.
T he exclusive use of unleaded fuel is critically
impor tant for the life of the catalyt ic convert
er and prope r funct ion ing of the engine.
A WARNING
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exha ust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fue l spill or other material wh ich can
cause a fire.
- Do not app ly additiona l undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con
verter or heat sh ields. Dur ing driv ing, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overheat and cause a fire.
(D Note
- Be aware that just one tank filling with
leaded fuel will already ser iously de-
grade the performance of the catalytic
converter .
- Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢page 183.
-Do not drive until the fuel tank becomes
completely empty . The engine could mis-
fire. Unburned fuel could also get into ..,.
Automatic car wash
The vehicle can be washed in almost any
modern automatic car wash .
The vehicle paint is so durable that the vehicle
can normally be washed without problems in
an automatic car wash. However, the effect on
the paint depends to a large extent on the de
sig n of the fac ility, the filte ring of the wash
water, the type of wash and care mater ial , etc.
If the paint has a dull appearance afte r go ing
through the car wash or is scratched, bring
this to the attention of the operator immedi
ately. If necessary, use a different car wash.
The power top does not require special pre
cautions be fore passing through a car wash.
Howe ver, the car mu st not be tre ated with
hot w ax after the wa sh cy cle!
The wax could
adversely affect the power top and
even dam
age the fabric
over a period of time.
The power top does not have to be washed
ev
ery time you use a car wash. The power top
can be spared if the car wash facility is equip
ped with manually adjustable roof brushes or
rollers .
Before going through a car wash, be sure to
take the usual precaut ions such as clos ing the
windows . Remove antenna if applicable .
If yo u have installed additional accessories on
the vehicle -such as spoilers, etc. -it is best to
ask the car wash operator if these should be
removed .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
the information
Qpage 162.
Washing the vehicle by hand
A lot of water is needed when washing a vehi
cle by hand.
~ Before you start washing, make sure you
have read and understood the WARNINGS
9 A in General informa tion on page 162 .
~ First soak all dried dirt until it is soft, then
rinse it off.
Cleaning and protec tion 163
~ As yo u clean yo ur vehicle , start with the roo f
and work your way down to the bottom, us
ing a sponge, a sponge g love or a clean
brush.
~ Rinse the sponge or the sponge glove often,
flushing it clean each time.
~ Use spec ial car shampoo only for very persis
tent d irt .
~ Rinse the ca r tho roughly with water .
~ Use a chamois leather to gently w ipe the ex-
ter ior dry .
U se a separate sponge for cleaning the
whee ls , door s ills and othe r regions exposed
to road dirt. In this way, yo u will no t scratch
the paint with coarse particles imbedded in
the sponge the next time you wash the car .
A WARNING
-Do not clean the underside of the chas
sis, fenders, wheel covers, or other hard
to reach parts without protect ing your
hands and arms . You may cut yourself on
sharp-edged metal parts .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other information
9 page 162 .
(D Note
-Never try to remove dirt, mud or dust if
the surface of the veh icle is dry. Never
use a dry cloth or sponge, s ince this
cou ld scratch your vehicle's paint or win
dows .
- Never wash your car in bright sunlight.
Drops of wate r act as mag nifying lenses
and may damage yo ur paint .
- When you wash your car in the winter: if you rinse you r vehicle with a hose, be
carefu l not to aim the stream of water
directly at locks, or at doo r or hatch
openings -they can freeze sh ut.
- Never use sponges designed to
remove
insects, or any k itche n sco uring sponges
or s imilar p rod ucts. They can damage
your paint finish .
- Yo u should remove debris (such as in
sects) from the headlight lenses on a •
•
168 Cleaning and protection
Use only special acid -free cleaners form ulated
for a lloy rims. Safe products are available at
your Aud i dealer. Never leave the cleaner on
the r ims longer than spec ified on the label. If
not rinsed
off promp tly, the acid conta ined in
some cleaners can attack the threads on the
wheel bolts .
Never use abras ive or metal polishing clean
ing agents. If the protective coating has been
chipped, e .g . by k icked up road dirt, touch it
up as soon as poss ible.
A WARNING
- Moisture and ice on brakes may affect
braking efficiency ¢
page 151, General
information.
Test the brakes c aref ully
each t ime you wash the veh icle.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other informa tion ¢
page 162.
Body cavity sealing
-
The body cavity sealing does not need to be
checked.
A ll body cavities wh ich could be affected by
corrosion have been give n thorough protec
tion at the facto ry.
T his sea ling does not require any inspection or
addit io nal treatment. If any wax should seep
out of the cav ity when the ambient tempera
ture is high, it can be removed w it h a plastic
scrape r and a su itab le so lven t.
A WARNING
So lvents can be dange rous.
- B enzine is flammable and t oxic.
If you
use benzine for removing the wax, keep
spar ks, flame and lighted c igaret tes
away. Never dump benzine on t he
ground, into open streams or down sew
age drains.
- Be sure to observe all safety and env iron
menta l regulations . Follow all instruc
t ions on the container.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS and
the in format ion
¢page 162.
Chassis
Have the undercoating checked for damage
from time to time.
The lower body shell of your Aud i is also thor
oughly protected against cor ros io n.
Any damage to the unde rcoating ca used by
road ha zards should be repaired prompt ly.
A WARNING ....__
Too much undercoating in the wrong p la
ces can cause a fire.
- Do not app ly additional undercoating or
r u stp roof ing on or near the exhaust
manifold, exhaust pipes, catalytic con
ver ter or heat shields. While driving, the
substance used fo r undercoating could
overhea t and cause a fire.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
o ther info rmation
¢ page 162.
Exhaust tail pipes
Road salt and o ther co rrosive materials w ill
damage the mate ria l in the e xhaus t tail pipes
i f they are not cleaned regular ly . Do not clean
the tail pipes with w hee l cleaner, pa int polish,
c h rome polish or other ab rasive cleane rs .
Clean the tail pipes with car care products
t h at are suitable for sta inless steel.
Your a uthorized Audi dea ler can prov ide clean
ing products that have been tested and ap
proved for your vehicle .
Care of interior
Radio-/Navigation* display
.. Clea n the dis play wi th a soft clean clo th and
a n LC D cleaner.
T he disp lay can be cleaned with a profess io
nally ava ilab le " LCD clea ner". The clot h should
be s ligh tly d ampened wit h the cleaning flui d
to clean the disp lay. .,..
182 Checking and filling
Deterge nt additives in the o il wi ll make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run
n ing for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the oil more often than recommended.
D am ag e o r m alfun ction s due to lack of
m ainten ance
It is essent ial that yo u change your oil at the
recommended intervals using only engine oil
that complies with Audi oi l standard
VW 502 00. Yo ur Limited New Veh icle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to failure to follow recommended mainte
nance and use requ irements as set forth in
the Audi Owner's Manual and Warranty& Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage un less you p resen t to
the dea ler proof in the form of Servi ce or Re
pa ir Orde rs that all schedu led maintenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports.
I n o rder to prov ide effective lubr ication and
cooling of internal engine components, a ll in
ternal comb ustion engines consume a certain
amount of oil. Oi l consumption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the eng ine . Typically, eng ines
with a specif ied break-in period (see
c::;, page 157) consume more oil during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stabilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumpt io n depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per m inute) at
which the engine is operated, the ambient
temperature and road cond it io ns. Furthe r fac
tors are the amo unt of o il d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the ox ida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is s ubject to
wear as mileage bui lds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over t ime until replacement
of worn components may become necessary. Wi
th a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tab lished or spec ified. There is no alte rnative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instr ument cluster
m lights up, yo u
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
with the oil dipstick c::;, page 183. Top off the
o il at your earliest conve nience
c::;, page 183 .
A WARNING
-Before you chec k anything in the engine
compartment, a lways read and heed a ll
WAR NIN GS
c::;, .& in Working in the engine
comportment on page 178.
CI) Note
D riving with an insufficient o il level is like
l y to cause sever e damage to the engine.
(D Tips
- The oil pressure warn ing display. is
not an indicator of the oil level. Do not
re ly on it . Instead, check the oil level in
your engine at r egular interval s, pr ef
erably e ach time you refu el, and always
before going on a long trip.
- If you have the impressio n yo ur engine
cons umes ex cessive amoun ts of oil, we
recommend that you consult your Aud i
dealer to have the cause of your concern
properly diagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con
sumption requ ires great care and may
take some t ime . Your Audi dea ler has in
struct ions about how to measure oil con
sumption acc urately.
still functioning and they will draw energy
from the battery and drain it, for example, the
engine immobilizer . To prevent this, you can
e ither charge the battery occasionally to keep
it in good working condi tion or you can d is
connect the negat ive cable on the battery .
Winter ope ration
During the winter months, battery capacity
tends to decrease as temperatures drop . This
is because more power is also consumed while
start ing, and the headlights, rear window de
fogger, etc ., are used more often .
Avoid unnecessary power consumption, par
ticularly in c ity traffic or when traveling on ly
short distances. Let your authori zed Audi
dealer check the capacity of the vehicle bat
tery before winter sets in
¢ page 192. A well
charged battery w ill not only prevent starting
p rob lems when the weathe r is cold, but will
a lso last longer .
Replacing b attery
The new battery m ust have the same capaci
ty, voltage (12 volts), amperage, construction
a n d p lug sealing, as the origina l batte ry. Spec
ifications are listed on the batte ry housing.
Batteries specially developed by A udi f ulfill
the ma intenance, output, and safety require
ments.
When insta lling the bat tery , make sure the ig
n ition and all e lectr ica l cons umers are sw itch
ed
off ¢ (j) .
We recommend that you use ma intenance
free or
cy cle-re sis tant /le ak -proof batteries
according to the standards TL 825 06 (from
December 1997) and VW 7 SO 73 (from Au
gust 200 1).
Replacing the battery should be ca rried by a
qua lified workshop. Please follow the instruc
tions on the battery cover.
(D Note
- All work on t he battery requires techni
ca l knowledge. Please contact an A udi
dealership or anothe r authorized facili ty
Checkin g and fillin g 189
for questions abo ut the batte ry - danger
of acid burns and exp losion hazard!
- T he battery must not be opened! Do not
try to change the battery's liquid level,
otherwise detonating gas will escape
from the battery - explosion hazard!
- The AGM battery in the luggage com
partment cannot leak, because the elec
tro lyte for this battery is absorbed into a
special glass mat. This leak-proof battery
must not be replace with a convent iona l
battery.
- Make sure the ventilation hose on the
side of the battery is connected, other
w ise fumes or battery ac id can leak out.
- Battery holder and terminals always
have to be secured correctly.
- Before all work on the battery follow the
warnings below ¢.&. in Working on the
battery on page 190.
@) For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of a battery, we recommend your author
ized Audi dealer change the battery for
you. Batteries contain sulfur ic acid and
l ead and must always be disposed of prop
erly in compl iance with a ll environmental
regulat ions. Disposing of vehi cle batter ies
improperly is very dangerous to the envi
ronment. Make sure that the removed bat
tery cannot overbalance, otherwise sulfu ric acid might escape!
(D Tips
If your vehicle is left standing for several
weeks at extremely low temperatures, the
vehicle battery shou ld be removed and
stored where it w ill not freeze. This will
prevent it from be ing damaged and having
to be replaced . •
•