54 Seat s a nd s tor ag e
Seats and storage
General recommen
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so
important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjust ing the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger . Adjust
your seat properly so that :
- you can easily and quick ly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
-your body is prope rly supported thus reduc
ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety be lts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection ¢
page 144.
In the following sec tions, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust you r seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for insta lling a child safety seat on the front
passenger's seat. Always follow the informa
tion rega rd ing child safety provided in
G page 165, Child Safety.
WARNING
Refer to G page 126, Driving Safely for
important information, tips, suggestions
and warnings that you should read and fol
low for your own safety and the safety of
your passengers.
A WARNING
, -
Incorrect seating position of the dr iver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal inj ury .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor when
the vehicle is in motion -never put your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out of the w indow or on top of the seat cush
ion. This app lies especially to the passen- gers
. If your seating position is incorrect,
you increase the risk of injury in the case of sudden braking or an accident. If the
airbag inflates and the seating position is incorrect, this could result in pe rsonal
in ju ry or even death.
- It is important for both the driver and front passenge r to keep a distance of at
least 10 inches (25 cm) between them
selves and the steering wheel and/or in
strumen t panel.
If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the a irbag system can
not protect you properly. In addition, the
front seats and head restraints m ust be
adj usted to your body height so that they
can give you max imum protect ion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the steer
ing wheel or instrument panel.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat while the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpectedly , caus
ing sudden loss of veh icle control and
personal injury. If you adjust you r seat
while the veh icle is moving, yo u are out
of pos it ion.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving .
We recommend that you adjust the dr iver's
seat in the follow ing manner:
.. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so
that you can easily push the pedals to the
floor wh ile keeping your knees slightly bent
G &. in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 54 .
.,. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
w ith your back against t he seatback, you can
s till grasp the top of the steering whee l.
.. Applies to veh icles with adjustable head re
straints: Adjust the head restraint so the up
per edge is as even as possible with the top
of yo ur head. If that is not possib le, try to
adjust the head restraint so that it is as .,.
close to this position as possible
c:>page 57.
A WARNING
Never place any objects in the driver's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal function. In
case of sudden braking or an accident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate .
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position .
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de
ploying, do not sit any closer to the instru
ment panel than necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided adjusted
correctly . We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat in the following manner:
.,. Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
position.
Do not ride with the seat reclined .
"" Applies to vehicles with adjustable head re
stra ints: Adjust the head restraint so the up
per edge is as even as possible with the top
of your head. If that is not possible, try to
adjust the head restraint so that it is as
close to this position as possible
c:> page 57.
.,. Place your feet on the floor in front of the
passenger's seat .
Front seats
Manual seat adjustment
Appl ies to vehicles: with manu ally a djustable seats
Fig. 51 Fr ont seats: manual seat adjustment
Seats and storage 55
Controls
@-Moving the seat forward/back: pull the
lever and slide the seat
c:> A.
@ -Lengthening/shortening the upper thigh
support*: lift the handle. A spring moves the
support forward
c:> ,& .
@ -Adjust ing the angle* of the seat surface:
pull/press the lever
c:> ,& .
@) -Adjusting the lumbar support*: press the
button in the corresponding position
c:> ,& .
®-Moving the seat up/down: pull/press the
lever
c:> .&. .
@ -Adjusting the backrest angle : turn the ad
justing wheel
c:> .&..
A WARNING ,--
-Never adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat while the vehicle is moving.
If you do this while the veh icle is moving,
you will be out of position. Always adjust
the dr iver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not mov ing.
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
he ight. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or ser ious injury could result!
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never rid e in a moving ve
hicle with the backrest reclined. Safety
be lts and the airbag system on ly offer
maximum protection when the backrest
is upright and the safety belts are prop
erly positioned on the body. The more
the backrest is reclined, the greater the
risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly posi
tioned safety belts.
56 Seats and storage
Power seat adjustment
App lies to vehicles: with power adjustable seats
Fig. 52 Front seats: power seat adjustment
Controls
@ -Adj usting the lumbar support*: press the
button in the corresponding position¢ .&..
@-Moving the seat up/down: press the but
ton up/down¢ .&..
@-Moving the seat forward/back: p ress the
button fo rward/back
¢ & .
©-Adjusting the backrest angle: press the
button fo rward/back
¢ & .
©-Raising/lowering* the head restraints:
press the button up/down ¢ .&. .
@ -Lengthening/shortening the upper thigh
support*: lift the handle. A spring moves the
front seat cushion forward¢&.
A WARNING
- Never adjust the d river's or front pas
senger 's seat while the veh icle is moving.
If you do this wh ile the vehicle is movi ng,
yo u will be out of posit ion. Always adjus t
the drive r's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving .
- Be care ful when adjus ting the seat
heig ht. Check to see that no one is in the
way, o r serious injury could result!
- B eca use the sea ts can be elec trically ad
justed with the ignit ion off or with the
ignition key removed, never leave chil
dren unattended in the vehicle. Unsuper
vised use of the electric seat adjust ments may cause serious injury. -
To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never r ide in a moving ve
hicle with the backrest reclined. Safety
be lts and the airbag system only offer
maximum protection when the backrest is upr ight and the safety belts are prop
e rly po sitioned on the body. The more
the backres t is reclined, the grea ter the
risk of persona l injury from an incorrect
seating position and imprope rly posi
tioned safety belts.
Center armrest
The center armrest can be adjusted to several
levels .
Fig. 53 A rm rest between the driver's/front passenger's
seats.
Ad ju sting the center armrest
"" To adjust the ang le, raise the arm rest from
the starting position
¢ fig. 53 detent by de
t en t.
.,. To bring the armres t back into the starting
position, raise it out of the top detent and
fold it back down.
T he armrest can slide forwar d and back .
Head restraints
Front head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Head restraints that ore adjusted according
to body size, along with the seat belt , offer
effective protection .
Fig. 54 Fron t seat: adjusting the head rest ra in ts
Ad just the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not poss ible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
¢ page 57.
~ To adjust the height of the head restraint,
grip the head restraint on the sides with
both hands and slide it up/down until it
locks into place
¢fig. 54.
Refer to ¢ page 130, Proper adjustment of
head restraints
for guidelines on how to ad
just the height of the front head restraints to
suit the occupant's body size .
A WARNING
-Driving without head restra ints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad
justed increases the r isk of serious or fa
tal neck injury dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢page 130.
@ Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety belts are an extremely effective
combinat ion of safety features .
l) The head restr aints cann ot be re move d fro m rear
se ats with fixe d backr ests.
-
Seats and storage 57
Rear head restraints
Fig. 55 Rea r seat : head restraints
Fig. 56 Rear head restraints: release
If there is a passenger in the rear center seat
ing position, slide the center head restraint
upward at least to the next notch¢&_.
Adjusting the head restraints
~ To move the head restraint up, hold it at the
sides with both hands and slide it upward
until you feel it click into place.
~ To move the head restraint down, press the
button @¢
fig. 55 and slide the head re
straint downward .
Removing the head restraints1>
~ Fold the backrest forward ¢ page 64.
~ Move the head restraint upward as far as it
can go.
~ Press the release@¢ fig. 56 with the me
chanical key¢
page 34 and the button @
¢
fig . 55 . Pull the head restraint out of the
backrest at the same time¢&_ .
~
130 Driving Safely
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on im
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re
straint system and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in occident situations.
Fig. 127 H ead re str ain t: vi ew ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.. Adjust the head restraints so the upper
edge is as even as possible with the top of
your head. If that is not possible, try to ad
just the head restraint so that it is as close
to this position as possible
e> fig. 12 7 .
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating position, slide the center head re
straint upward at least to the next notch .
Adjusting head restraints
e> page 57 .
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Driving without head restraints or
with head restraints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of serious or fa
tal 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 restraints 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 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
e> page 165.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
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
e> _& .
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 ..,.
140 Safet y belts
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjus t the front seat and head restra int
properly ¢
page 54, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place befo re using the belt¢.&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c:> .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 135.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an acci dent.
The belt may also lock when yo u 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 sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre
tensioner that helps to t igh ten the safety bel t
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 sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w it h a switchable locking fea
ture that
mu st be used w hen the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important inf ormation about this
feature
¢ page 175.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 140, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offe r optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and es pe
ci ally in a cra sh .
- Neve r at tach t he safety be lt to t he buck
le for an other se at. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always loc k the convertible locking re
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 177 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to gett ing
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 1 36 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .
144 Airbag sys tem
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, a lways:
• Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 12 7,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 55,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=:; page 139,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 165.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemen tal p rotec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r=:; page 127,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 56.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r=:; page 165.
There is a lot tha t the driver and the passen
ge rs can and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
Prope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do i ts
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents yo
u from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , spec ial
modifications to your vehicle may be necessa
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustomer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834 .
When the airbag sys tem dep loys, a gas gener
ator will f ill the ai rbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inf late between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment pane l and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
ment so that the front occupants can see
th rough the w indshield aga in without inter
ruption .
All of th is take s place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have dep loyed . The airbags also
inflate with a g reat dea l of force and nothing
sho uld be in their way when they deploy.
F ron t air bags in combination w ith properly
worn safety bel ts slow down and lim it the oc
c u pant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve
hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and uppe r body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front a irbags w ill not i nflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t rigge ring of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
c a u sed by the co llision and reg istered by the
elect ron ic cont ro l u nit. If thi s rate is below
the re ference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the collision . Veh icle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and .,.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the a irbag as poss ible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The fron t passenger seat in your vehicle has a
lot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sensing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control u nit when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
l ight on whe n a ma lfunction in t he sys tem
components is de tected. The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
detai l below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to
prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag Sy stem
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/decele ration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the seve rity of the crash.
- An electronic co ntrol unit, with integrated
c rash se nsors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit " decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the inform ation
received from the crash senso rs . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pretensioners should be activated .
Airbag system 15 1
-An Advanced A irbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve fo r the driver ins ide the steer
ing wheel h ub.
- An Advanced Airbag w ith gas gene rator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat ion reg istered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
light in the instrument cluster
q page 155 .
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steer ing whee l o r inst rument panel. The in
forma tion registered is sent cont inuo usly to
t he elect ron ic cont ro l uni t to regula te de
ployment o f the front Advance d Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes
on and st ays on in the cen ter o f th e instr u
ment panel
<:!;> page 155, fig . 143 and tells
you whe n the front Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned
off .
-A sensor below the safety be lt latch fo r the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety be lt . The tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sensi ng mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
r:!;> pag e 145, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A senso r in the safety belt latch fo r the d riv
er and fo r the front sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
not and transmi ts this informa tion to the
electronic control unit.
_&. WARNING
Damage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
-
•
•