2012 AUDI A6 belt

126 Driving Saf ely
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
posit ion and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po­
sit ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un­
folds with g reat force in the blink of an
eye.
-Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) betwe en the front
passenge r's breastbone and the inst ru­
ment pane l.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas­
senger's knees and the lowe r part of the
ins trument panel.
- Each passenger m ust always s it on a seat
of the ir own and properly fasten and
wea r the safety belt be long ing to that
seat .
- Be fore driv ing, a lways ad just the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop­
er ly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instr ument panel, out of the win­
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt w ill not be ab le to protect you prop­
erly and can even increase the risk of in­
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest recl ined or
t ilted far back! The farther the back rests
are t ilted back, the greate r the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
t ion.
- Children must always ride i n chi ld seats
~ page 168. Specia l precautions apply
when insta lling a child seat on the front
passenge r seat ~
page 142 .
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical si ze and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
T o redu ce the risk o f injury caused by an inco r­
rect seating posi tion in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas ­
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.., Adjust the head rest raint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head . If t hat is not possible , try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this pos ition as possib le
~ page 12 7 .
.., Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.., Fasten and wear safety belts p roperly
~ page 136 .
.., Make su re that children are always properly
restrai ned in a child restraint that is appro­
pria te fo r the ir s ize and age~
page 168.
.&, WARNING ,.__
Passengers who are imp roperly seated on
the rea r seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec­
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched . By not sitting upr ight, a rear
seat passenger inc reases the r is k of per­
sonal injury from imp roperly pos itioned
safety belts!
- Always adjust the head rest raint p roperly
so that it can give maximum protection.

Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in accident situations.
Fig. 132 Head re str ain t: vi ew ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust­
ed to achieve the best protection.
,.. For adjustable head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head. If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re­
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
q fig. 132.
"'" If there is a passenger on the rear cen ter
seating position, slide the center head re­
straint upward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
q page 52.
A WARNING
Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad­
justed increases the risk of serious or fatal
neck injury dramatically. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
-Always make sure each person in the ve­
hicle properly adjusts their head re­
straint. Adjust the head restraint so the
upper edge is as even as possible with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
Driving Safely 127
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be­
fore attempting to adjust the head re­
straint.
- Children must always be properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their age and size
q page 168.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupan t restraint sys tem can only re­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the
body . Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in­
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air­
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children. Therefore :
,.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
q _&, .
The following bulletins list only some sample
positions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam­
ples will make you more aware of seating po­
sitions that are dangerous.
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel ..,.
•
•

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts a re nec ­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly 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
de nts . 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
imp aired 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 has a total of five seating posit ions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
N ot wea ring safety belts or wea ring the m
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
perso nal i njur y an d deat h.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, in­
cl ud ing s mall ch ild ren, into any belt . It is
e speci ally dangerous t o pl ac e a safety
bel t over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- N ever le t mo re peo ple ride in t he ve hicle
th an there are s afety be lts availab le.
Safety belts 13 3
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe­
ty belt or child restra int.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger (on USA mod­
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
Fig . 1 33 Safety belt warning lig ht in the instr ument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, alway s:
~ Fasten your safety be lt and make su re you
are wearing it properly .
~ Make sure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect children w it h a child restraint sys-
t em approp riate for the s ize and age .
The warning lig ht . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ig nit io n is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts. In add it ion, you will
hear a wa rning tone fo r a ce rtain per iod of
t im e.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belt s.
A WARNING
- Safety b elts are th e single most eff ect ive
mean s ava ilable to reduce the r is k o f se­
rio us inju ry and dea th in au tomobile a cci­
dents. Fo r you r protection and that of
your passe ngers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when t he ve hicle is m oving . •
•

134 Safety belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person­
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles.
Fig. 134 Unbe lted occupants in a vehicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 135 Th e vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en­
e rgy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this veh icle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 134, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 135.
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more. At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was t ravell ing just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col­
lisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 136 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown fo rwa rd
Fig . 137 A rear passe nge r not wearing a safety belt
will fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of i mpac t by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained
ll-

occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 136. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup­
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al­
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini­
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
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.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen­
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them­
selves but also the driver and other passen­
gers
c::> fig. 137. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas­
senger.
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. 138 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver
Safety belts 135
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 su bsta ntia l­
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
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 their 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 airbags,
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!

136 Safety belts
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi­
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
,.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this 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 correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person , in­
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit­ ting 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 their 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 be ing 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 allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder pa rt of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos i­
tion . -
Several layers of heavy clothing may in­
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- 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
proper use of some child restraint sys­
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly .
If web­
bing, bindings, buck les, 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 authorized Audi dealer . Replace­
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inert ia reel
¢ page 213, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 139 B elt buck le and to ngue o n th e drive r's sea t

To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restra int
properly
c::> page SO, General recommenda­
tions .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::>fig. 139.
... Pull on t he be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. This fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing 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 pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated
c::> page 140. The function of the pre­
tensioner is mon itored by a warning light
c::> page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
c::> page 179 .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
c::> page 13 7, Safety belt position.
Safety belts 13 7
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is secu rely latched
whenever the rear cente r safety belt is
being used. If the backrest is not secu re­
ly latched, the passenger will move fo r­
ward with the backrest during s udden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the veh icle
c::> page 181.
(!} Tips
For information on safety belt pretension­
ers, refer to
c::> page 140 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 140 Head restra int and safety be lt pos itio n as
see n fr om the side

138 Safety belts
Use the height adjustment to change the posi­
t ion of the shoulder belt of the front safety
belts.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- The shoulder belt portion of the safety
belt must be positioned over the middle
of the occupant's shoulder and never
across the neck or throat .
- The safety belt must lie flat and snug on
the occupant's upper body
c:> fig . 140 .
Pull on the belt to tighten if necessary.
-
-The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo­
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
c:> fig . 140. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting sc1fety belt can cause seri­
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> page 136.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectan t mothers always wear
safety belts correctly- throughout the preg­ nancy.
Fig. 141 Safe ty belt pos it ion during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c:> page 137.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly
c:> page 50, General recommenda­
tions.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig. 141, q A..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c:>page 136, fig . 139 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:> A in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 137 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
}~
Fig. 142 Re leas ing the tong ue from the bu ckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
c:> fig. 142 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c:> ,& .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position . ..,.