~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 72.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag de
ploys.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving . Your seat may move unexpect
edly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in-
Driving Safely 167
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion .
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 205. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat¢
page 184 .
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving .
~ 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 restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible¢
page 168.
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety bel ts correct
ly ¢
page 179 .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger 's seat, see ¢
page 71.
A WARNING ,_
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position 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
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it
•
•
168 Driving Safely
unfolds with great force in the blink of
an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop
erly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop
er ly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c::> page 205. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c::> page 184 .
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 sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following :
.. If there are passengers in the rear seat, fold
the head restraints up on the occupied seats
or slide the center head restraint upward at
least to the next notch
c::> page 77. ..
Make sure that the seatback is securely
latched in the upright position
c::> page 79.
.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c::> page 179 .
.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their size and age
c::> page 205.
_& 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 securely latch
ed in the upright position and the safety
belts are properly positioned on the
body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
injury from improperly positioned safety
belts!
-Always adjust the head restraint properly
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. 196 H ead restra int: vi ew ed from 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 possib le, try to ad
j ust the head restraint so that it is as close
to this position as possible ¢
fig. 196.
~ If there are passengers in rear seat, fo ld the
head restraints up on the occupied seats or
s li de the center head restra int upward at
least to the next notc h.
Adjust ing head restraints ¢
page 76.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
st raints. Dr iv ing without head restra ints or
w it h head restra ints that a re not properly
adjusted incre ases the risk of ser ious or fa
t al neck injury dramat ica lly. To help reduce
the risk of injury:
- Always drive wit h the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- E very person in the veh icle must have a
properly ad justed head restra int .
- Alw ays make sure e ach pe rson in the ve
hicle properly adjus ts the ir head re
st raint . Adj ust the head rest rain ts so the
upper edge is as even as possib le wit h
the top of your head. If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restra int so
that it is as close to this position as pos
sible .
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
wh ile driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the dr iver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safe ly be
fore attempting to adjust the head re
st ra in t.
- Children must always be properly re
strained in a ch ild restrai nt that is app ro
pr iate for their age and s ize
c> page 205.
Examples of improper seating posit ions
The occupant restraint system can only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Improper seat ing posit ions can cause serious
inju ry or death . Saf ety belts can on ly work
Dr iving S afel y 169
when they are properly positioned on the
body. Improper seating positions red uce the
effectiveness of safety belts and will even in
crease the r isk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to crit ica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase t he
risk of serious in ju ry and death when an a ir
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the p roper sea ting posit ion. A dr iver is
responsible for the s afe ty of all ve hicle occu
pan ts and espec ially for children . There fore:
~ Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating posi tion when the vehicle is being
used¢ &.
The following bullet ins list o nly some samp le
pos itions t hat will i ncrease the risk of se rio us
injury and dea th. O ur hope is that t hese exam
ples will make yo u more aware o f seating po
s itions tha t are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- neve r stan d up in the vehicle
- neve r stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w it h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- neve r lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out the window
- neve r put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cush ion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imp roper seating posit ions increase the
risk of serious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
-Always make sure that all vehicle occ u-
pants stay in a proper seating position
a nd are p roperly rest rained whenever the
veh icle is being used .
-
•
•
172 Driving Safel y
to reduce the risk of inj ury when the vehi
cle is not be ing 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 . Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury.
- Never let children p lay in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Veh icle occupan ts must
always be proper ly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging . Sta le air escapes to the o utside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load . The t ire pr essure is shown on the
tire p ressu re label. The tire pressure la
bel is loc ate d on the driver's s ide B-pi lla r.
The tire pressure label lists the recom
men ded cold t ire inflat ion pressu res for
the veh icle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufact ured.
For recommended t ire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
Q page284.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly ¢ page 171 , Loading the luggage com
partment .
In a coll is ion, the laws of phys ics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause se
rious injury. Items in t he vehi cle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of t he item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
F or example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10 -lb (5 kg) object a re abo ut 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would sudden ly be
about 200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imag ine the
injur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing
fr ee ly t hro ugh the passenger compa rtment
cou ld cause in a col lision like this.
_& WARNING
We ak, damaged or imprope r straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
i ng hard braking or in a collision and cause
se rious pe rsonal injury.
-Always use s uita ble mo unt ing straps an d
p roperly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtment to he lp pre
vent items from shift ing or fly ing fo r
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rea r seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to hel p prevent items from fly ing for
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas
senger compartment.
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat t ether
s trap to a t ie-down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u b eli eve that your vehi cle
has a def ect whi ch could cau se
a crash or could cau se injury or
death, you should immediately
inform the National Highway
Traffic Safet y Administration ""
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
... Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se
rious injury and death in automobile acci
dents . For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more like ly to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Vehicles with five seats: Your vehicle has two
front seats and three rear seats. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
Vehicles with six seats:* Your vehicle has two
front seats, two seats in the second row and two seats in the third row. Each seating posi
tion has a safety belt .
Vehicles with seven seats:* Your vehicles has
two front seats, three seats in the second row and two seats in the third row. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
Safety belts 175
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
be lt over a child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available .
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe
ty belt or child restraint.
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. 198 Safety bel t warn ing ligh t in the instru ment
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, always:
... Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly .
"' Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety belts.
"' Protect children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the s ize and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion, you will hear a warning tone for a certain
period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their
safety belts.
•
•
178 Safety belts
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 substantial
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!
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 being 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 part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
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, buckles, or retractors are .,,.
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- 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 be lts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the funct ion of the inertia reel
¢ page 254, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 204 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly¢
page 71, 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 ¢&, .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
<=> fig . 204.
Safety belts 179
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This 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 the safety belt and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
<=> page 215.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious injury in an accident
c>page 180, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger will move for
ward with the backrest during sudden
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
~
180 Safety belts
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effectiveness and can cause serious 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 critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c:::> page 217 .
Safety belt position
Correc t bel t posi tion is the key to get ting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 205 Safety belt pos it io n
u, .... 0 :t
~
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats
and the outer seating positions in the sec
ond row seating,
- height -adjustable front seats.
&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- Th e shoulder belt shou ld 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. 205. 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. 205 . Pull on the belt to ti9ht
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shift ing its posit ion on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable , soft tissue and cause ser ious
injury.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:::> page 178 .
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
Fig. 206 Safety belt pos it ion during pregnan cy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 180.
" Adjust the fron t seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c:> page 71 , 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.
" Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
¢ fig. 206 , ¢ ,&..