2013 AUDI A4 ECU

130 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) between the front
passenge r's breastbone and the inst ru­
ment pane l.
- Each passenger must 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.
- Before driv ing, a lways adjust the front
passenge r seat and head restra int prop­
er ly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instrument pane l, 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 backrests
are t ilted back , the greater the risk of in­
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi­
t ion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 166 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenge r seat ¢
page 145.
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor­
rect seating position in the event of a s udden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas- sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.. Make s ure that the seatback is secure ly
la tched in the up right pos ition ¢
page 69.
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating position, slide the center head re­
straint upward at least to the next notch .
.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety be lts properly
¢ page 140 .
.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child rest raint that is appro­
priate fo r the ir s ize and age¢
page 166.
& WARNING ~ -
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear 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 seatback is sec urely latch­
ed in the upright position and the safety belts are properly posit ioned on the
body . By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
injury from improperly positioned safety
be lts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.

132 Driving Safel y
- never sit on the edge of t he seat
- never sit s ideways
- n ever lean out the w indow
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
-
Improper seat ing pos itions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occu­
pants stay in a proper seating position
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
M ake sure that all pedals move freely without
in te rfe ren ce and that nothing prevents them
from retu rni ng to the ir origina l posi tions.
Only use floo r mats that leave the pedal area
free and can be secured with f loor mat fasten­
e rs.
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal
travel is required to br ing the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals t hat canno t move freely ca n cause
loss o f vehicle control and in cr ease the r is k
o f serious injury.
- N ever pl ace any o bje cts in t he d river 's
f ootwell. An objec t could ge t into the
peda l area and inter fere w ith pe dal func ­
tion . In case of s udden braking or an ac­
cident, you would not be able to bra ke o r
accele rate! -
Always make sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mot fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
.,. Ma ke s ure that the f loor mats are properly
secured and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals
c:> & -
Use only f loor mats that leave the peda l area
u nobst ructed and that are firmly secu red so
that they cannot slip o ut of position. You can
obta in suitab le floor mats from your author­
ized Audi dealer.
Floor mat fasteners a re insta lled in your Audi.
Floor ma ts used in yo ur vehicle mus t be at­
tached to these fasteners . Prope rly securing
t h e floor mats wi ll prevent them from sliding
into positions that cou ld interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of yo ur vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING
-Pedals that ca nnot move free ly can result
i n a loss of vehicle control and inc rease the
r isk of ser ious persona l inju ry .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
p roperly secu red .
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be prope rly secured in p lace to prevent
them from slipping and int erfer ing with
the ped als o r th e abili ty to con trol t he
veh icle.
- Neve r place or ins tall f loor mats o r othe r
f loor coverings on top o f al ready ins tal­
led floo r ma ts . Ad ditiona l floor mats and
o ther coverings will red uce the size of
the peda l area an d interfere w ith the
pedals.
- Always prope rly reinsta ll and secure floo r
mats that have been taken o ut for clean­
ing.

-Always mak e sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell wh ile the ve­
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel­
erator pedal caus ing a loss of veh icle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All Luggage and other objects must be prop­ erly stowed and secured in the luggage com­
partment.
F ig. 1 41 Safe lo ad pos itio nin g: pl ace heavy objects as
l ow a nd a s far forwa rd a s possible .
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly , changing vehicle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision .
.,. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment .
.,. Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as low
and as far forward as poss ible
c> fig. 141 .
.,. Secure the load w ith the cargo net* or with
non -elastic straps secured to the tie -downs*
c> page 71 c>page 72 .
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is secu rely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored l uggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle caus ing serious
personal inj ury in the event of hard b rak­
ing or an accident. To help reduce the r isk
of serious personal injury :
Drivin g Sa fely 133
-Always put objects , for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com­ partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the t ie-down eyelets
and suitab le straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads wi ll influence the way your ve­
h icle handles . To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
i n jury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen­
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat ­
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specif ied on the safety compliance stick­
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per­
missible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle different ly .
- Please observe informat ion on safe dr iv­
ing
c> page 127 .
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed w hile driving.
- Never transpo rt objects larger than
those f itting comp lete ly into the luggage
area beca use the rear lid cannot be f ully
closed.
- If you absolutely m ust dr ive with the rea r
lid open, observe the following notes to
red uce the r isk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the sunroof,
- Open all air outlets i n the instrument
panel,
- Swi tc h off the air rec irculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.

134 Driving Safely
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the sunroof and the rear lid are se ­
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk
of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
-After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es­
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la­
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor­
mal load conditions, please see chapter
c:>page238.
-
Tie-downs
Applies to vehicles: with tie -downs
The luggage comportment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo p rop­
erly
c:> page 133, Loading the luggage com ­
portment .
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller i tems that are loose in the vehi­
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en­
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor.
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item . This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be
about 200 lbs. (90 kg). You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
-Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur­
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help pre­
vent items from shifting or flying for­
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
down, always use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to help prevent items from flying for­
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas­
senger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether
strap to a tie-down .

140 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, b indings, 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 212, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 148 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he drive r's seat

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
r::!:> page 58, Seats and storage.
• Make sure the seatback of t he rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis ¢ ,&. .
"" Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch securely
r::!:>fig . 148.
• Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
c ur ely la tched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. T his 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 pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten t he safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea­
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature¢
page 176.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
r::!:> page 141, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 141
belts are proper ly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely latched, the passenger w ill move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach th e safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat . A tt ach ing the belt to
t he wrong buckle will reduce s afety 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
be lt 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 safety seat in the vehicle
¢ page 178.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 149 Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .

142 Safety belts
& WARNING
Improperly positione d safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 149. 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
¢ fig. 149. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety 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
¢page 140.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the pr eg­
nancy.
Fig. 150 Safety belt posit io n during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 141.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 58, Seats and storage.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig. 150, ¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 140, fig. 148 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
-
- E xpectant 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¢
& in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 141.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 151 Releasin g the tongue from the buckle
.. Push the red releas e button on the buckle
¢ fig. 151 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
A. .,..

range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 137, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN­
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 161 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt,
@ -center rear safety belt
.
Child S afety 1 71
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se ­
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c:::;, fig. 161.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha­
ble locking retractor! You shou ld not hear a
"cl icking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LA TCH lower ancho rages or with the
standard s afety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un­
use d rea r seat safety belts and become en­
tang led . This could cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing t hem
around the head restrai nt of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate t he switchable l ock ing re­
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
arou nd the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.