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 adjusting 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 properly supported thus reduc ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety belts and airbag system can offe r
maximum protection
¢ page 152.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for installing a child seat on the front pas
senger's seat. Always fo llow the information
regarding chi ld safety provided in
¢ page 176, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the f loor when
the vehicle is in motion -never p ut your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the window or on top of the seat cush
ion. Th is applies especially to the passen
gers . If your seating position is incorrect,
you increase the r isk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident. If the
airbag inflates and the seating position
is incorrect, this could result in persona l
injury or even death.
- It is important for both the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of a t
Seat s an d sto rage 57
least 10 inches (25 cm) between them
selves and the steering wheel and/or in
strument panel. If you're s itting any
closer than th is, the airbag system can
not protect you properly. In addition, the
front seats and head restraints must be
adjusted to your body height so that t hey
can give you maximum protect ion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the s teer
ing wheel o r instrument pane l.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your sea t may move unexpected ly, caus
ing sudden loss of vehicle cont rol and
personal injury . If you adjust yo ur seat
while the veh icle is moving, yo u are out
of posit ion.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjus t the dr iver's
seat in the fo llowing manner:
.,. Adjust t he seat in fore and aft direction so
that you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor wh ile keeping your knees s lightly bent
i:::> A in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 57.
.,. Adjust the backrest so that when you sit
w ith your back against the backrest, you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.,. Adjust 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 res traint so that it is as close to
this pos ition as possib le
i:::> page 64.
A WARNING
Never place any objects in the dr iver's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal funct ion . In
case of sudden braking or an acc ident, you
wo uld not be able to brake or accelerate.
64 Seats and storage
Head restraints
Adjusting the head restraints
Head restraints that are adjusted according
to body size, along with the safety belt, offer
effective protection .
Fig. 6 1 Comfort head restraints: adjusting the s ide
bolsters
F ig. 62 Oute r rear seat: adjus ting the head restra int
Ad just 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
restra int so that it is as close to this posit ion
as possible ¢
page 64.
Adjusting front he ad restr aints
• To adjust the height of the front head re
stra ints, press/push the button©
Q page 58, fig. 54 up/down Q _&.
• Vehicles with recl ining rear seat : G rasp the
s ides of the passenger's head restra int w ith
bot h hands and slide it upwa rd/downward .
Adjusting re ar he ad restraints (adjustable
head restraints )
The center rear head restra int is not adjusta
b le. •
Grasp the sides of the head restraint with
both hands and slide it upward until you feel
it click into place ¢
A_.
• To lower the head restraints, press button -
small arrow -
Q fig. 62 and slide the head re
straint all the way down .
Adju sting the side bolster s*
• To adjust the side bolsters *, press them into
the desired position ¢
fig. 61.
Refer to Q page 138, 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
--
-All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Driving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck i nju ry dramatically.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢ page 138, Proper adjustment of head
restrain ts .
- Vehicles w ith a pass through in the cen
ter console have seating for four. The long cen ter console between the two
rear seats is
not a seat ing posi tion.
Therefore, a sa fe ty belt is not provided .
((0 Tips
- To prevent the head rest raints from run
ning into the headliner, t hey re tract au
toma tically when moving the seat for
wa rd or upward .
- Correctly adj usted head restra in ts and
safety belts are an extremely effective
combination of safety features .
82 On the road
On the road
Steering
Adjusting steering wheel position
The steering wheel position can be adjusted
for height and reach .
Fig. 84 Switch for steering whee l adjustment
F irst, adjust the driver's seat correctly.
• To adjust the height, press the switch up/
down. The steering column will continue
moving as long as you a re pressing the
switch.
• To move the steeri ng wheel forward or
back, press the switch forward/back . The
steering column wi ll continue moving as
long as you are pressing the switch .
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be
tween your chest and the center of the steer ing wheel. If you cannot sit more than 10 in
ches (25 cm) from the steering wheel, see if
adaptive equipment is available to help you
reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steering wheel.
For detai led informat ion on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
Q page 58.
In vehicles with the memory function* , the
steering column settings are stored together
with the seat position.
A WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjust
ment and improper seating position can
cause serious personal injury . -
Adjust the steering wheel col umn only
when the vehicle is not mov ing to pre
vent loss of vehicle control.
- Adj ust the driver's seat or steering whee l
so that there is a m inimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steer ing wheel
Q page 135, fig . 153 . If
you cannot maintain th is m inimum dis
tance, the airbag system cannot p rotect
you properly.
- If physical limitations prevent you from sitt ing 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check wit h your au
thorized A udi dealer to see if adaptive
equipment is available .
- I f the steering wheel is al igned with your
face, the supplementa l driver's airbag
cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the
steering whee l is aligned with your
chest.
- Always hold the steering wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to reduce the risk of persona l injury
if the dr iver's airbag dep loys.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steeri ng wheel rim or on t he steering
wheel hub. Holding the steer ing wheel
the wrong way can cause serious injuries
to the hands, arms and head if the driv
er's airbag deploys.
Easy entry feature
The easy entry feature makes it easier to en
ter and exit the vehicle by automatically ad
justing the steering wheel.
• Select in the MMI : ICAR lfunction button>
Car sy st e m s control button > Ve hicle set·
tin gs > Se ats > Driver's s eat > Ea sy entr y>
On .
When the easy entry feature is turned on, the
steering wheel moves up to the park position
whe n you switch off the ignition. Afte r you en-
ter the ve hicl e, the steering wheel moves to .,..
184 Child Safet y
to the backrest on the veh icle seat. Ad
just the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat w ith the
head restraint in place <=>
page 138. Driv
ing with head restraints that are not
properly ad justed increases the risk of
serious o r fa tal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being use d
¢page 144, Safety
belts,
¢ page 152, Airbag system and
¢ page 176, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
If except ional circumstances requ ire the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the ch ild's safe
ty and well -being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken :
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certif ied by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side a irbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost posit ion of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi ble before installing the child restraint .
- Always make su re that noth ing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switc hed
on.
- If the light does no t stay on, pe rform the
chec ks
¢ page 163, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN· GER AIR BA
G OF F
light does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft. 9 in . (57 in ches/1.45 meters) tall.
:e N 0 ±
i'il
F ig. 179 Rea r seat: c hild p roperly rest rai ned in a boos
ter se at
T he vehicle 's safety belts a lone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of the ir bodies
and the safety be lt can he lp protect them in a
c rash .
.,. Do not use the convertible lock ing retractor
when us ing the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a ch ild on a booster seat .
.,. The shou lde r belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap be lt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety be lt height adjust
ment to help adj ust the shou lder portion
properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 181. ..,_
-Always read and heed the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems
c:> page 176, Child Safe
ty.
(D Note
On vehicles with power adjustable rear
seats* some criteria must be observed
when attaching the child restraint using the
LATCH system:
- To attach the child restraint securely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear
position, the seat height set to the low
est position and the head restraint must be adjusted to the vertical position
¢ page 60.
-If a child safety seat is attached to one of
the rear seats, this seat must not be ad
justed using the power controls under
any circumstances. The
Entry assistance
for this seat must also be deactivated in
the MMI
¢ page 63. The child safety seat
as well as the rear seat can be damaged by the adjustment process.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 186 Tether an cho rs: reces s fl ap s b ehin d th e re ar
seatbacks
The tether anchors for the two* /three rear
seating positions are located in recesses in the
rear window shelf ¢
fig. 186. Vehicles with
two rear seating positions* are equipped with two tether anchors .
A tether is a straight orV-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle.
Child Safety 193
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking the ve
hicle interior .
Forward facing child restra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats .
.&_ WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a collision . The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted child restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho rages or to the tether anchors .
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight -sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac
tually on the seat .
- The heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de -
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must ..,