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.
112 Safet y belt s
Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
Fig. 117 S afety be lt pos it io n during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 111 .
• Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c> page 66, General recommenda
tions.
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in upright posit ion and securely
latched in p lace before using the belt .
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the ches t and pelvis
c> fig. 117,
c> ,& .
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
yo ur seat until you hear it latch securely
c> poge 110 , fig. 115.
•Pullon the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap po rtion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible ac ross the pe lv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
ot her impo rtan t info rmat ion
c> .&. in Fas
tening safety belts on page
111.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle has stopped .
,,
}_
Fig . 1 18 Releas ing the tongue from the buc kle
• Push the red release b utton on the buckle
c> fig. 118. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of t he b uckle
c> ,& .
N 0 ;c
a1i
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
-
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi-
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your
risk of being i njured or k illed.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts con cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improper ly can ca use se
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
increase the risk of injury and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas of the
body . Imp roper seati ng posi tions a lso in
crease the risk of serious injury and death
whe n an airbag dep loys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the correct seating posi
t ion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil
dren. Therefore:
• Never pe rmit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c> ,& . ~
& WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
Q page 109.
Safety belt preten
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front and side collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts in use are tensioned au
tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sen
sors in front and side collisions of great se
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack
Q &. in Service and disposal of safety
belt preten sioner on page 113.
Taking up the
slack helps to reduce forward occupant move
ment during a collision .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact
force, the safety belt pretensioner are not activated.
- When the safety belt pretensioner is ac
tivated, a fine dust is released . This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo
nents of the system are scrapped. A
qualified dealership is familiar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you.
Safety belts 113
-Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or individual parts of the system, par
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working cor rectly in a colli
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and tha t dis
carded componen ts do no t cause injury or pol
lute the environment .
& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once. If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system .
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re pair manual, training and special equip
ment necessary . •
•
114 Safety belt s
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts w ith pretens ioners are scrap
ped, all applicable laws and regulat ions
mu st be observed. Yo ur autho riz e d Au di
dea ler is familiar with these requ irements
and we recommend that you have your
dea le r perform this service for you.
Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
""Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 99,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 67 ,
""Wear safety be lts properly r::::> page 109,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children
r::::> page 136.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
airbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenger to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 99,
Proper occupant seating positions. For details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 67 and ¢ page 68.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
r::::> page 136.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
ger can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your Audi work to
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 115
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer
CARE at 1-800-822-2834 for possible modifi
cations to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
wheel and the driver and between the instru
ment panel and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after deploy
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter
ruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and passenger from
hitting parts of the inside the vehicle while re
ducing the forces acting on the occupant dur
ing the crash . In this way they help to reduce
the risk of injury to the head and upper body
in the crash. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electronic control unit. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . Veh icle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inf late o r not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and ..,. •
•
116 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy, or when they have
a lready deployed; for example, when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra in t and is no t a s ubst i
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts¢
page 107.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing wheel, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 110, Safety belts .
-If ch ildren are not properly restra ined,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the fro nt seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢ page 99, Proper occupant seating po
sitions.
- Always sit uprig ht with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in ju ries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed i n a crash must
b e repla ced.
- Use on ly or ig inal equipment airbags ap
p roved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technici an who has the necessa ry too ls
an d diagnost ic equipment to properly re
p lace any airbag in your vehicle an d as
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in yo ur vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and head the WARNINGS for important de
tails about children and Advanced A irbags
¢page 136.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly dange rous place fo r a
c hi ld to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place fo r a child in a fo rward-facing child safe
ty seat.
It can be a very d angerous p lace for a n
infant or a chi ld in a rearw ard-f acing seat.
T he Advanced A irbag System in you r vehicle
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the Require
ments of Un ited States Fede ral Motor Vehicle .,.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 119 Lo cation of dri ver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 120 Loca tion of front passe nger's ai rb ag : in the in
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steer ing
wheel hub¢
fig. 119 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢
fig. 120. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
Airbag system 119
detailed information about airbags, safety
b elts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING ,.;;
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U .S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavie r than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de
ployment are met .
- Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
- For its own safety, a child should always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size.
-