
When the regulator is in the O position, the
seat ventilation is switched off. The range of
adjustment is between 1 and 6.
Heated rear seats~
Applies to vehicles: with heated rear seats
The seat cushions and seatbacks of the two
outer rear seats can be heated electrically.
F ig. 114 Ce nter console rea r: Heated sea ts
i
-..:,
---------------<%
F ig. 1 15 Ce nter console rear : Se at heat ing with four
zone automat ic comfort a ir cond it ion ing•
Rear seat he ating
• Rotate the thumb wheel ~fig. 114 @to
turn on and adjust the heating for the left
rear seat .
• Rotate the thumb wheel @ to turn on and
adjust the heating for the right rear seat.
Rear seat heating w ith four-zone
automatic comfo rt air conditioning *
• Press the Q] button . ~ fig. 115.
• Rotate the regu lator to the desired setting .
I n pos ition O the heating for the seats is
turned off . T he range of ad justment is be
tween 1 and 6 .
The heater for the outer rear seats can be
turned on when the weight of the parti cular
seat's occ upant is detected. Howeve r, the rea r
Warm and cold 101
seats can be pre-heated for about 10 minutes
using the activated seat heater. After this
time has e lapsed, the seat heater automati
ca lly turns off if it does not detect an occu
pant's weight for the particular seat.
A WARNING
Individuals wit h reduced se ns itiv ity to pa in
or temperature could develop burns when
usi ng the seat heat ing funct ion . To reduce
the r isk of injury, these ind ividuals shou ld
not use se at hea ting.
(D Note
To avoid damage to the heat ing e lements
i n the seats, do not kneel on the seats or
place heavy loads o n a sma ll a rea of the
seat.
© Tips
P lease not e that the weight of objects
placed on the seat wi ll also be detected .
This weight may be enough to cause the
seat heater to turn on .
Steering wheel heating~
Applies to vehicles: with steering wheel heating
The steering wheel can be heated electrically.
Fig . 1 16 Steer ing wheel: button for steering whee l
heat ing
• Press the [j] button to turn the steer ing
whe el heat ing on and
off <=>fig . 116. The
message
Steering wheel h eating on! or
Steering wheel heating off! appears in the
instrument cluster disp lay. ..,.

On the road
Steering
Manually adjustable steering wheel
Applies to vehicles: with manu ally adjustable steering
w hee l
The height and reach of the steering wheel
can be adjusted.
Fig. 117 Lever under the steer ing column
First, adjust the driver's seat correctly .
.. Pull the lever
c:>fig . 117-Arrow-c:> ,A .
.. Move the steering wheel to the desired po
sition.
.. Push the lever against the steering column
unt il it locks.
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
adapt ive equipment is available to help you
reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steering wheel.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c:> page 72.
& WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjust
meht and improper seating position can
cause serious personal injury.
- Adjust the steering wheel column only
when the veh icle is not moving to pre
vent loss of vehicle control.
-
-Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel
so that there is a minimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel
c:> page 166, fig. 195. If
On the road 103
you cannot maintain this minimum dis
tance, the airbag system cannot protect
you properly.
- If physical limitations prevent you from
sitting 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check with your au
thorized Audi dealer to see if adaptive
equipment is available.
- If the steering wheel is aligned with your
face, the supplemental dr iver's a irbag
cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the
steering wheel is aligned with your
chest.
- Always hold the steer ing wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to reduce the risk of personal injury
if the driver's airbag dep loys .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steering wheel rim or on the steering
wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel
the wrong way can cause serious injuries
to the hands, arms and head if the driv
er's airbag deploys.
Electrically adjustable steering wheel
App lies to vehicles: with electrically adjustable steering
w heel
The height and reach of the steering wheel
can be electrically adjusted to suit the driver.
Fig. 118 Switch for stee ring wheel adjustment
First, adjust the driver's seat correctly.
Height adjustment
.. Push the switch @ up or down c:>fig. 118.
The steering wheel height changes for as
long as you press the sw itch. ..,.

Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. You r safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe t he information
a nd warn ings in th is se ct ion - for yo ur own
safety as well as that of your passengers .
The information in this se ction applies to all
model ve rsion s of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures descr ibed in th is sec tions may be
standa rd equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in
st ruct ions and heed the WARNINGS i n
this manual. It is in your interest and in
the inte rest of you r passengers.
- Always keep all of the Owner's Literature
man uals in your Audi when you lend o r
sell your vehicle so that this im po rtant
information will a lways be availab le to
the driver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's Literature han
dy so that you can find it easily if yo u
have ques tion s.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint syst em and work togeth er to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
t echnology have made a var iety o f fea tures
avai lable to he lp red uce the risk of i njury in an
Dr iving Safel y 165
accident . The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in yo ur Audi :
- sophis ticated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting posit ions,
- be lt tens ione rs fo r the fro nt seats and the
outer sea ting pos it ions in the second row
seating,
- be lt h eight adjustment fo r th e front seats
a nd the o ute r seat ing positions in the sec
ond row sea ting,
- he ad restra ints for e ach sea ting pos it ion,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the fro nt seats a nd the outer
seating posit ions i n the second row seat
ing*,
- side curta in airbags,
- special LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- adjustab le steeri ng column.
T hese individual safety features, can work to
gether as a system to he lp protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accide nts.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always correctly adjusted and cor
rect ly used .
Safety is everybody's responsibil ity!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occu
pant safety always depends on the informed
and careful driver.
Fo r yo ur safety and the safety of your passen
gers,
before driving always:
.. Make s ure that all lights and signals are op
erating correctly .
.. Ma ke s ure that the tire pressu re is co rrect .
.. Make s ure that all windows are clean and
afford good v is ibility to the o utside.
.. Secure a ll luggage a nd other items carefu lly
¢ page 87.
.. Make s ure th at noth ing can inte rfe re with
the peda ls.
.. Adjust fron t seat, head re straint and mi r
rors co rrec tly for you r heigh t.
•
•

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. .,.

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 , ¢ ,&..

184 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 166,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=;page 72 ,
• Wear safety be lts properly
r=; page 178,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 205.
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 . Therefore 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 sit properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag ca n inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental p rotec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions¢
page 166,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 72.
I t's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 205.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers 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 you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the peda ls , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi
fica tions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad
ded cove rs, and i nflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment pane l and the front passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
ment so tha t the front occupants can see
t h ro ugh the windshie ld again witho ut inter
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link o f an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have dep loyed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside o f th e
vehicle 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 upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re
pair costs o r even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whe ther an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-

-Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up aga inst or very near the instru
ment panel.
- 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 insta lling
the fo rward-facing child restraint . The
b ackres t m ust be adjus ted to an upr ight
posit ion.
- Make su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on .
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
Airbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat, sensors, wiring, brack
ets, and more . The function of the system in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control un it when the ignit ion is on .
The control un it mon itors the Advanced Air
bag Sys tem and turn s the a irbag in dica tor
light on when a ma lfunction in t he system
components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below. Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from being damaged . Damage to
the seat may p revent the Advanced A irbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measu re ve hicle accelera tion/decele ra ti on
to provide inform ation to the Advanced Air
bag System about the severity of the crash.
A irbag system 19 1
-An elect ron ic cont ro l unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
The control un it "decides" whether to f ire
the front a irbags based on the informat ion
received from the crash sensors. The control
unit also "decides" whether the safety belt
prete nsioners shou ld be act iva ted.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for
the driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator in
side the instrument pa nel for the front pas
senge r.
- A weight-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenge r seat cushion
that measures the to tal weight o n the seat.
The informat ion reg iste red is sent continu
ously to the elect ronic con trol u nit to regu
la te deployment of the front Adv anced Air
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag moni tori ng sys tem and ind ic a tor
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 195.
- 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
q page 195, fig . 212 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-sensing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the
front passenge r seat should be turned
off or
not
q pag e 186, 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 a nd fo r the fro nt sea t passenger tha t
senses w hethe r that safe ty belt is latched or
no t 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.
-
•
•

206 Child Saf ety
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
ch ild safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptiona l circumstances and
the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immed iately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air
bag system inspec ted immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forward -facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make su re the forward-fac ing
seat has been designed and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the man ufacturer's in
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move t he 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 ch ild restraint. The backrest must be
adjusted to an upr ight position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(D Tips
Always rep lace child rest raints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam
age to a child rest raint that is not visible
could cause i t to fail i n another collisio n
si tua tion.
Advanced front airbag system and
children
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance w ith United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time you
r
vehicle was manufacture d.
T he Adv anced Airbag system in yo ur vehicle
has been certified to mee t the "low-risk" re
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and sma ll adults on the
drive r side. The low r is k dep loyment cr iteria
are intended to red uce the risk of in jury
through interact ion w it h the airbag that can
occur, for example, by being too close to the
steering wheel and instrument panel when
the a irbag inflates . In addition, the syst em
has been ce rtified to comply wit h the "sup
pression" re quirements o f th e Safety Sta nd
ard, to t urn off the fron t airbag for infan ts up
to 12 months who are res trained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that a re list
ed in the Standard.
E ven though your veh icle is eq uipped wit h an
Advanced Airbag system , a ll children, espe
cia lly those 12 years and yo unger, should a l
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a ch ild to ride . The front
seat is not the safest p lace for a ch ild in a for
ward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It can be a ve ry
dange rous place fo r an infan t or a large r child
i n a rea rward-f acing se at.
Advanced Airbags and the weight
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
detects the presence of an infant or child in a
c h ild restra int on the front passenge r seat us
i ng the weig ht-sens ing mat in the seat cush
ion and the sensor be low th e safe ty belt latch
o n the front passenge r seat that measures t he
tens ion on the s afety be lt.
T he we ight -sensi ng mat measures total
we ight of t he chi ld and the ch ild safety seat
and a c hild b la nk et on the front passenger
seat. The we igh t on the fron t pa sse nger se at
is re late d t o the desig n of the ch ild res trai nt
and its "f ootprint", the s ize and shape o f the
bottom of the chi ld restraint as it sits on the .,..