
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
imp roperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci
dents . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
impa ired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi TT Roadster has two seating posi
tions. Each seat ing pos ition has a safety be lt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improper ly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the ve hicle
t h an t he re a re safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 107
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 1 10 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Befor e driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your sa fe ty belt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Make s ure that yo ur passenge rs a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect childre n with a child rest raint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The wa rning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen the ig nit ion is switched on as a
remi nder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their saf ety belts .
A WARNING
-Safety belts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se
rio us i nju ry and de ath in au tomobile a cci
dents . Fo r yo ur pro tection and tha t of
your passen gers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when t he ve hicl e is moving .
- Fail ure to p ay att ent io n t o the wa rni ng
lig ht that come on , could lead to person
a l injury . •
•

Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to
offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where
even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It 's simply
not true!
Fig . 114 Driver is properly restrained in a sudden b rak
i ng ma neuve r.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles . By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy
over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable " and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
Safety belts 109
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do the ir job in a collision . For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed . Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle.
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body .
"' Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in th is chapter.
"'Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING ~
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving
off and make sure all pas
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned correctly on
the body .

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 .,.

Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup
pressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for
ward -facing infant restra ints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat. Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
q page 138.
The PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel tells you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight w ill come on for a
few seco nds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or ch ild
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
q page 125, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be tu rned off .
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old
chi ld but less than the weight of a sma ll
ad ult, the front airbag on the passenge r side
can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
l igh t does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic control unit
and can dep loy if the control u nit senses an
impact that meets the conditions stored in its
memory.
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
Airbag system 117
- a small ch ild that is heav ie r th an a typical 1
year -old chi ld is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less o f whether the child is in one o f
the child safety seats listed
q page 138), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger ai rbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on .
T he front airbag on the passenge r side may
not deploy (t he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate a nd stay lit) even if a
small ad ult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting upright with their back against a
non-recl ined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat ¢
page 99, Proper seating po
sition for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag dep loys, the
Federa l Standard requ ires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
t h e risk of injury th rough inte ract ion w ith the
airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that ta ke pla ce at lower dece le rat io ns
as de fined in the e lectronic co ntrol unit
¢ page 1 26, PASSENG ER AIR BAG O FF light.
Always remember, a c hild safety seat o r in fant
car rie r in st alled on the fron t seat may be
stru ck and kno cked ou t of po sitio n by the rap
i dly i nflat ing passenger 's airbag in a fronta l
collision. The ai rbag co uld great ly red uce the
effectiveness of the chi ld restraint and even
seriously in jure the child during inflation.
For t his reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for c hildren - when proper ly
rest rained according to their age and size -we
strong ly recommend that chi ldren a lways sit
i n the back seat¢
page 136, Child Safety .
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety
seat ins talled on the fron t passenger seat
will be ser io us ly injure d and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad-
v anc ed Airbag System . ..,_
•
•

118 Airbag sys te m
- The inflati ng airba g will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backr est, door or
ro of.
- If you must install a rearwar d facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat b ecause of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rea r-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer .
- Forward -fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfere with the deployment of the air
bag and cause serious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the inst ru
me nt pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irb ag as poss ible be fore instal ling
the fo rward-facing child restraint. T he
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position .
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will be d isplayed whenever a ch ild re- straint is
insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de
scribed ¢
page 125, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the chi ld restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
l ight does not s tay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea le r i mmediately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling child restra ints.
A WARNING
=
If, in except ional circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward o r rearwa rd-facing child
r estra int on t he front passe nger's seat:
- Imp rope r installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiv eness o r even
p reven t them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch ild restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as i t de
p loys and seriously inj ure o r even k ill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manu fact ur
er 's instructions p rov ided with the chi ld
safety seat or carrier .
- Never p lace add itiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight reg is
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.

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.
-

120 Airbag sys te m
Advanced front airbag system
Yo ur veh icle is equippe d with a fro nt Advanced
A ir b ag System in com pliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicab le at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag Sys tem supp le
ments the safety belts to provide addit ional
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in fronta l impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety be lts. Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
Always remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up
right, wear ing you r safety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restra ined, not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been cert ified to meet the "low risk" re
qu irements for
3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment cri te
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, for example, by be ing too
close to the steer ing wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag i nflates.
I n addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
a irbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who are restra ined on the front passenger
seat in ch ild restra ints that are listed in the
Standard
~ page 138, Child restraints and
Advan ced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be tur ned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is re
stra ined on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear -facing or forwa rd -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your veh icle was
cert ified. For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com
pliance w ith the US Safety Standard
~page 138,
-weight less than a threshold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas senger seat .
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than the total
we ight of a chi ld that is about
1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear-facing o r forward
facing infa nt restraints ( listed in Fede ral Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standa rd 208 w it h which
t h e Advan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certif ied), the front air bag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the elec tro nic con tro l unit detects a to
ta l we ight on the fron t passenger seat that re
quires the front airbag to be t urned off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front a irbag on the passenger
s ide has not been t urned off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control u nit senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical
1 year-old,
but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the child safe ty seats listed
~ page 138),
-a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel will come on and stay o n . ..,.

the airbag system from working properly.
- Never place seat covers or replacement
upholstery that have not been specifical
ly approved by Audi on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
Airbag System from recognizing child re
straints or occupants on the front pas
senger seat and prevent the side airbag
in the seat backrest from deploying prop
erly .
- Never use cushions, pillows, blankets or similar items on the front passenger
seat. The additional padding will prevent
the weight-sensing mat in the seat from
accurately registering the child restraint
or person on the seat and prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from function
ing properly.
- If you must use a child restraint on the
front passenger seat and the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions re
quire the use of a towel, foam cushion or
something else to properly position the
child restraint, make certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on whenever the child re
straint is installed on the front passen
ger seat .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, have the
airbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of
fered by the front three-point safety belts
with pretensioners and load limiters and the adjustable head restraints to help reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situations . Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter.
Deployment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the activation of the safety belt preten-
Airbag system 123
sioners depend on the deceleration measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
electronic control unit. Crash severity depends
on speed and deceleration as well as the mass
and stiffness of the vehicle or object involved
in the crash .
When the electronic control unit registers a
low severity crash and the safety belt is being
used, the airbag will not deploy. I f the safety
belt is not being used, the first stage deploys,
followed by the second stage after a much lat
er time in the crash sequence.
If the electronic control unit registers a crash
of medium severity , the first stage of the air
bag deploys followed by the second stage at a
much later time in the crash sequence -re
gardless of whether the safety belt is being
used or not . In higher severity crashes as reg
istered by the electronic control unit, both the
first and second stages deploy almost at the
same time.
On the passenger side, regardless of safety
belt use, the airbag will be turned off if the
weight on the passenger seat is less than the
amount programmed in the electronic control
unit. The front airbag on the passenger side
will also be turned off if one of the child safe
ty seats that has been certified under Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 has been
recognized on the seat. The
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on to tell
you when the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off
¢ page 116, Child r estraints on the front s eat
- some important things to know.
_&, WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained , leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
¢ page 115.
•
•