124 Driving Safel y
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already insta l
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
peda ls.
- Always proper ly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out fo r clean
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the driver footwell wh ile the ve
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped unde r the b rake pedal and accel
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
contro l.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com
portment.
Fig. 136 Safe load pos it io nin g: place heavy objects as
low a nd as fa r forward as possible .
-M N 0 u.
l:l
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle hand ling
characteristics . Loose items can also increase
the risk o f 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
cc> fig . 136 .
... Secure luggage using the tie-downs provid
ed
c:> poge 68.
... Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in p lace.
A WARNING ,..__
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
i ng or an accident. To help reduce t he risk
of ser ious personal inj ury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy i tems in the luggage com
pa rtment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compa rtment using the t ie-down eyele ts
and suitab le st raps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads w ill influence the way yo ur ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal
injury :
-Always keep in mind when transporting heavy objects , that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as poss ible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle We ight Rat
i n g or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specified o n the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceed ing per
missible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and hand le differently .
- P lease observe informa tion on sa fe dr iv
ing
~ page 118.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, a lways
keep the rear lid closed while driving.
- Never transpo rt objects larger than
those fitting comp lete ly into the luggage
~
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
-If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power top,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the power top and the rear lid are
securely 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
.
Driving Safely 125
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
¢page 226.
Tie-downs
App lies to vehicles : wi th t ie-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 124, Loading the luggage com
partment .
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items 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
•
•
128 Driving Safely
For safety reasons, rollover protection also de
ploys during front, side and rear collisions
above a certain level of severity .
Retracting rollover protection
Fig. 139 Deploye d rollbar w it h re lease loop.
Fig. 140 Deploye d roll bar w ith powe r top frame fa cing
u pward.
If the rollbars deployed but the vehicle was
not involved in a collision or rollover, you can
retract them without special tools. The sys
tem is ready for use again once they are re
tracted .
With the power top open ... Pull the loop upward in the direction of the
arrow and hold it in place¢
fig. 139 .
... Slide the rollbar down .
" Release the loop just before the rollbar
reaches its end position by approximately
1-2 in. (3-5 cm) .
... Press the rollbar down until it stops .
... Make sure the rollbar is secure before re-
leasing it .
... Close the cover@¢
fig. 140 .
... Repeat the procedure on the other rollbar.
With the power top closed "Switch the ignition on . ...
Press the convertible switch to adjust the
convertible frame until it is vertical
¢ fig. 140 .
... Pull the loop upward in the direction of the
arrow and hold it in place¢
fig. 139.
" Slide the rollbar down .
"' Release the loop just before the rollbar
reaches its end position (3-5 cm).
"' Press the rollbar down until it stops.
"' Make sure the rollbar is secure before re-
leasing it .
... Close the cover@¢
fig. 140.
"'Repeat the procedure on the other rollbar .
... You can now close the power top again.
A WARNING -
- Have the rollover protection system
checked by your authorized Audi dealer if it is faulty . Otherwise, the system may
not deploy correctly in a collision.
- Modifying the rollover protection system
or individual components is not permit
ted .
- Work on the rollover protection system
should only be performed by your au
thorized Audi dealer. Otherwise the sys
tem may not function correctly in a colli
sion or it could deploy unexpectedly .
- Have the system inspected at service in
tervals. This ensures the system will al
ways be ready for use. Have your author
ized Audi dealer check the rollover pro
tection system every two years at the lat est .
13 2 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.
,&. 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, bindings, 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
c:> page 200, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Belt positioner
The driver and front passenger seats are
equipped with belt positioners .
Fig. 14 7 Driver 's se at: Be lt positio ner
The front seats are equipped with belt posi
tioners so it is easier to fasten the safety be lts . The belt positioners automatically ex
tend when the door closes and the ignition
switches on ¢
fig. 147.
The belt positioner returns to its starting posi
tion again when
- the tongue in the belt latch engages o r the
belt was not fastened within 60 seconds .
- yo u sw itch the igni tion off.
- you ope n the door.
_& WARNING
- O nly you r autho rized Aud i de ale r shou ld
wor k on the sys tem or remove and instal
ling system components when perform
ing other work .
- T he be lt positioners could cause in jury or
damage if they pinc h peop le or objects
when extending or retracting .
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig . 14 8 Be lt buckle and tongue on t he driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
~ Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly¢
page 61, Seats and storage.
~ Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt¢ ..
&.
~ Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even-
ly across the chest and pelvis¢,&..
Safety belts 133
~ Insert the tongue into the correct buck le o f
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
¢ fig. 148.
~ Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automat ic safety belt r etractor s
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic be lt ret ractor on the shoulder belt. This fea
ture locks the belt when the be lt is pulled out
fast, during hard brak ing and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep h ill or th rough a sharp cu rve.
During normal driv ing 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 pretensione r is
monito red by a warn ing light¢
page 20.
Switchable locking fe ature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a sw itchable lock ing fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a ch ild safety seat . Be s ure to
read the important information about this
feature
¢page 168.
_& WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 134, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer opt imum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
be lts are properly posit io ned on the
body.
-
- Never attach the safety be lt to the buck
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety 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 .,.
134 Safet y belt s
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 secur ing a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c::> page 170.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is th e key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 14 9 Safety belt pos it io n
;;; r-0 ± .., CD
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match your body size .
- height -adjustable front seats .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious personal injury in an acci
de nt.
- T he shoulder belt sho uld lie as close to
the cente r of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body. Ho ld the
bel t above the latch tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no p ress ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways fit snugly
c:> fig . 149. Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pe lvis and never over the abdo
men . Make s ure the be lt lies flat and
snug
c::> fig . 149. Pull o n the belt to tight
en if n ecessary. -
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
in ju ry.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS a nd
other important information
<=:>page 132.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expe ctan t mothers always wear
safety belts corre ctly -throughout the preg
nan cy.
Fi g. 1 50 Saf ety belt pos it ion dur ing p re gnan cy
To prov ide max imum protect ion, safety belts
must a lway s be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
<=:>page 134.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c::> page 61, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in an upright position and secure ly
latched in place before using the belt .
"' Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly ac ross the chest and pelvis
c::> fig . 150,
c::> &_ .
.,. In sert the tong ue i nto the correct buckl e of
your seat unt il yo u hear i t latch secu re ly
c;, page 133, fig . 148 .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure t hat it is se
curely latched in the buck le.
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 i f 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 129, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 137, Airbag system and
¢ page 158, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t t he
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. 160 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt
.
Child S afety 163
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 webbing @behind the
head restra int of the seat where the child re
straint is installed¢
fig. 160. When doing
so, do not engage the switchable locking re
tractor ! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when wind ing up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat installed with
the LA TCH lower a nc ho rages or with the
stan dard safety be lt or a child in a boos ter
se at o n the rea r seat co uld play with un
used rea r seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This cou ld cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
-A lways secure unused rear seat sa fe ty
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re
tracto r when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
164 Child Safet y
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward-fac
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
-- /
Fig . 161 Sche matic overview: rearward- facing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 168 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments.
> Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
> Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 163.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the chi ld faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 161 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forwa rd-facing child seat.
I t is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
-Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death in a
crash.
- Never install rearwa rd-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger sea t -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A c hild will be ser iously in
jured and can be killed whe n the inflat
ing ai rbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 138, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safe
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rearward-facing ch ild re
straint in t he forward-facing direction .
Such rest ra ints are des igned for the spe
cial needs of infan ts and very sma ll chil
d ren and cannot protect them p roperly if
the seat is forward -facing.
- If you m ust ins ta ll a rearwa rd fac ing
chi ld safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install t he rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Aud i dealer .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
¢ page 129, Safety
belts, ¢ page 137, Airbag system
and
¢ page 158, Importan t things to know.