
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

q fig. 145. 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
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts 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 supplemental protection .
- 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 .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk
of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys .
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air
bag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
Airbag system 147
deploys and cause serious personal in
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
,,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu
sic players. Such objects could cause seri
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined and the airbags inflate.
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.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle 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 impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle . .,.
•
•

156 Airbag system
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must
come on and stay on if the ignition is on
and .. .
- a car bed has been installed on the front
passenger seat, or
- a rearward-facing chi ld restraint has been
installed on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restraint has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is equal to or
less than the combined capacitance of a typ
ica l 1 year -old infant and one of the rear
ward-f acing or forward -facing child re
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safe
ty Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced
Airbag System in your vehicle was certified .
If the front passenger seat is not occupied,
the front airb ag will no t deploy, and the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Nev
er install a rearward-facing child restra int on
the front passenger seat, the safest place for
a child in any kind of child restraint is at o ne
of the seating positions on the rear seat
¢ page 144, Child restraints on the front seat
- some important things to know
and
~ page 168, Child Safety.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on when one of the conditions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to
make certa in that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light stays on cont inuous ly whenever the
ignition is on. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
l ight does not appear on and does not
stay on all the time, stop as soon as it is safe
to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ignition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turn
i ng it on again;
- remove and reinstall the ch ild restraint .
Make sure that the child restraint is properly
installed and that the safety be lt fo r the
fron t passenger seat has been correctly
routed through the child restraint as descri-bed in
the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions;
- ma ke sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety belt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no electrical device (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games device
or power inverter) is placed or used on the
front passenger seat if the device is connect
ed to the 12-volt socket or the cigarette
lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret
rofitted or otherwise added to the front pas
senger seat;
- make sure that nothing can interfere with
the safety belt buckles and that they are not
obstructed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
does not come on and does not stay on con
t inu ous ly (when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restraint off the front passen-
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions . Have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer immed iately.
- move the child to a rear seat position and
make sure that the c hild is prope rly restrain
ed in a ch ild restra int that is appropriate for
its si ze and age.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should
NOT come on ...
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NOT come on when the ignition is on and an
adult is s itting in a proper seating position on
the front passenger seat . If the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or
flashes for about S seconds wh ile driving, un
der these circumstances, make sure that:
- the adult on the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat

172 Child Safety
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil
dren:
.. Always use the right child safety seat for
each ch ild and alw ays use it properly
r:::>page 174 .
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
• When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
r:::> page 179.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er, should always ride in the back seat proper
ly restrained for their age and size.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child can be injured or killed by be
ing thrown against the inside of the ve- hide or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improp erly restrain
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213) .
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo
men and neck areas during sudden brak
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.

17 4 Child Safety
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled resulting in ser ious per
sonal injury and even death.
- Always buck le unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ldren in ch ild
seats and properly activate the converti
ble locking retractor so that the child
cannot unreel the safety belt from the
retractor.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs . or 9 kg need special rearward-fac
ing child restraints that support the back ,
neck and head in a crash.
F ig. 154 Schemat ic overv iew: rea rwa rd -facing infa nt
sea t, p roper ly in stalled o n the rear sea t
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
c> page 179 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch ( 2.5 cm).
I nfants up to about one y ear (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best pro tected in special infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in special re
straints in which the child faces the back of the vehicle
. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash¢
fig. 154.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child seat .
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat!
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal anchorages ,
the unused safety belts must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot
reach them .
_&. WARNING
--
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or im prope rly in
stalling a child restraint incre ases the risk
of ser ious perso nal inju ry and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air bag System. A chi ld will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the inflat ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest , center armrest, doo r or
roof
c> page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing ch ild restra int
in the forward-facing direction. Such re
s traints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small ch ildren
a nd cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l cir cumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF

light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga
rette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice or power inverter). These may influ
ence the electrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 133, Safety
belts,¢ page 142, Airbag system
and
¢ page 168, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
with the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
serious personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of children in chi ld
seats such as by properly routing them
around the head restraint for the seating
position where the child restraint is in
stalled.
-
Child Safety 175
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
belt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.
- A child restrained in the child safety seat
on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockable safe
ty belts .
- Always secure unused lockable safety belts on the rear bench.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash .
Fig. 155 Schemat ic overv iew : installat ion of the at·
tac hments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 156 Schemat ic overview : instal lation of the seat
using the vehicl e's safety be lt system
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving ¢
page 179 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
IJ>-

-Never place or use any electrical devic e
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat i f the device is con
nected to the 12-volt sock et or the ciga
rette lighte r socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never ins tall any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquid s on the front passenger seat
c u shion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as
a la ptop , CD player, elect ronic games de
vice or power inverter) . These may influ
ence the e lectrical capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detect ion
system and can a lso fly around in an acci
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- 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 .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the forwa rd -facing child seat
at a seating posit ion on the rear seat and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
au thori zed Audi dealer .
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the re ar seat posi tions if the
PASSEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not s tay on
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
A child in a child rest raint insta lled with
the LATCH lower universal anchorages or
w ith the standard safety belt on the rear
seat may play with unused rear seat safety
belts and become entangled resulting in
ser ious personal injury and even death .
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ld ren in ch ild
seats such as by properly routing them
-
Child S afety 177
around the head restraint for the seat ing
position where the child restraint is in
stalled.
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re
tractor when routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
-A child restrained in the chi ld safety seat
on the rear bench can be fatally injured
when playing with unused lockab le safe
ty belts.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properl y used boos ter sea ts con help pro tect
children weighing be tween about 40 lb s. and
80 lbs . (1 8 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll .
"' ...
"' 0 :i: ;lli
Fig . 1 57 Rea r seat : chil d pr oper ly restr ained in a boo s
ter seat
The vehicle's s afe ty belt s alone will not fit
most children until they are at lea st 4
ft . 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs . (36 kg) . Booster seats raise these chi l
dren up so tha t the safety belt w ill pass prop
erly over the stronge r parts of the ir bodies
and the safety be lt can he lp protect them i n a
crash .
"' Do not use the convert ible loc king ret ractor
when using the veh icle's safety be lt to re
s train a ch ild on a booster seat.
.. Always position the shoulder portion of the
safety belt m idway ov er th e ch ild's sho ulder.
If you must transport an o lder child in a
booster seat on th e fron t passenger seat,
yo u ca n use the sa fety be lt heigh t adjust
ment to he lp adju st the shoulder portion
properly .

the head restraint again immediately o nce the child seat is removed. Dr iving
without h ead restraints or with h ead re
straints that are not properly adjusted
increases the risk of ser ious or fatal neck
injury dramat ica lly .
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri
ous ly injured or even kill ed when an a ir
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for e xamp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
your vehicle .
-Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forwar d, si tting s ideways o r out of posi
t io n in any way during an acc iden t can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sul t in se rious personal injury or deat h.
- If you mus t in stall a boos ter seat on the
front passenger seat be cause of e xcep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch ed on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
<=> page 154, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child rest raint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being use d
<=>page 133, Safety
belts, <=> page 1 42, Airbag system
and
<=> page 168, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
A child in a boos te r seat inst alled with t he
standar d safety belt on t he rear sea t may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled res ulting in ser ious per
sonal injury and even death.
Child Sa fet y 1 79
-Always secure unused rear seat sa fety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly rout ing them
around the head restraint for the seat ing
posi tion where the child rest rain t is in
stalled .
- Never activate the switchable lock ing re
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
T he safety belts eme rgency locking retracto rs
fo r the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a co n
vertib le lo cking ret ractor for child re straints.
T he safety belt m ust be locked so tha t be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retrac to r can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety be lt webbing from loosening up
during norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o nl y be prope rly installed w hen t he safety belt
is locked so that t he ch ild and child safety
seat w ill stay in place .
A lways remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young
er, sho uld always r ide in the back seat prope r
l y restrai ned fo r the ir age and size .
A WARNING
Improperly ins talled chi ld safety sea ts in
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision .
- Always ma ke sure tha t t he safe ty belt re
tr actor is lo cked w hen in sta lling a child
safety sea t. An unlocke d safety bel t re -
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
Ill>
•
•