58 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 a irbag system can offer
maximum protection
¢ page 145 .
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 166, Child Safety.
WARNING
Refer to G page 12 7, 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 mo tion -never p ut 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
s trumen 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 unexpected ly , caus
ing sudden loss of veh icle control and
pe rsonal injury. If you ad just you r 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 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 58 .
.,. 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 .,.
62 Seats and storage
Installing the head restraints
.. Slide the posts on the head restra int down
into the guides until you feel the posts click
into place.
.. Press the button @
Q fig. 62 and slide the
head restraint all the way down. You should
not be able to pull the head restraint out of
the backrest .
So that the driver can have a better view to
the rear, the head restraints should be pushed
down completely when the rear seats are not
occupied.
A WARNING
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
~page 131.
-Only remove the rear seat head restraints
when necessary in order to install a child
seat ~
page 174. Install the head re
straint again immediately once the child
seat is removed. Driving without head re
straints or with head restra ints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk
of serious or fata l neck injury dramatical
ly.
@ Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety belts are an extremely effective
comb inat ion of safety features .
Seat memory
Description
Applies to vehicles: with memory function
The memo ry function allows you to quickly
and easily sto re an d recall personal seating
profiles for the driver. The memory function is
operated through the master key and the memory buttons in the driver's door.
The drive r's sea ting profi le is stored and as
signed to the master key each time the vehicle
is locked. The seating profile is recalled auto
matica lly when the vehicle is unlocked. If two
peop le use one vehicle, it is recommended that each person always uses "their own"
master key .
Up to 2 seat profil es can be stored in the
memory buttons in the driver's door. Once
they are stored, these seat profiles can be se
lected at any time.
In addition to the driver's seat settings, you
can also store and access the exterior mirror
adjustment settings* using the remote con
tro l key or memory button.
Remote control key
Applies to vehicles: with seat memory
To assign the dr iver 's seat settings to the re
mote control key when locking the veh icle, the
funct ion must be act ivated in the rad io or
MMI*
.. Select: I CAR I function button > Seat adjust
ment
> Driver's seat > Remote control key >
on.Or
.. Select:
!CAR ! function button> Car sys
tems *
control button > Vehicle settings >
Seats > Driver 's seat > Remote control key
> On.
@ Tips
If you do not want another driver's set
tings to be assigned to the remote key,
switch off the memory function using the
radio or
MMI* or the !OFFI button
~page 62.
· Memory buttons
Appl ies to vehicles: wit h seat memory
Fig. 64 Driver's door: memory function buttons
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, child restraints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe the information
and warnings in this section - for your own
safety as well as that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle . Some of the
features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in
structions and heed the WARNINGS in
this Manual. It is in your interest and in
the interest of your passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important infor
mation will always be available to the
driver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find it easily if you have
questions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an
Driving Safely 127
accident. The following is a list of just a few of
the safety features in your Audi :
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all
passenger seating positions,
- belt force limiters for the front seats,
- belt pretensioners for the seats,
- head restraints for each seating position,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- side curtain airbags ,
- special LATCH anchorages for child re-
straints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to
gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always correctly adjusted and cor
rectly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers,
before driving always:
"' Make sure that all lights and signals are op
erating correctly .
"' Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
"' Make sure that all windows are clean and
afford good visibility to the outside.
"' Secure all luggage and other items carefully
qpage 64.
"' Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
"' Adjust front seat, head restraint and mir
rors correctly for your height.
"' Instruct rear seat passengers to adjust the
head restraints according to their height.
"' Make sure to use the right child restraint
correctly to protect children
q page 166,
and~~fy. ~
•
•
~ 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
c:;, page 60.
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 129
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion .
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats
c:;, page 166. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c:;, page 145 .
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 :
~ Move the front passenger seat back as far
as possible. There must be a minimum of 10 inches (25 cm) between the breastbone
and the instrument panel
c:;, &, .
~ 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.
~ 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 .
~ Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:;, page 140.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c:;, page 58.
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:
•
•
130 Driving Saf ely
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
posit ion 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
sit ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with g reat force in the blink of an
eye.
-Always make sure that there are at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenge r's breastbone and the inst ru
ment pane l.
- Each passenger must always s it on a seat
of the ir own and properly fasten and
wea r the safety belt be long ing to that
seat.
- Before driv ing, a lways adjust the front
passenge r seat and head restra int prop
er ly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor in
front of the seat . Never rest them on the
seat, instrument pane l, out of the win
dow, etc . The airbag system and safety
belt w ill not be ab le to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest recl ined or
t ilted far back! The farther the backrests
are t ilted back , the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
t ion.
- Children must always ride in child safety
seats ¢
page 166 . Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenge r seat ¢
page 145.
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 s udden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas- sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.. Make s ure that the seatback is secure ly
la tched in the up right pos ition ¢
page 69.
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating position, slide the center head re
straint upward at least to the next notch .
.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front
of the rear seat.
.. Fasten and wear safety be lts properly
¢ page 140 .
.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child rest raint that is appro
priate fo r the ir s ize and age¢
page 166.
& 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 sec urely latch
ed in the upright position and the safety belts are properly posit ioned on the
body . By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
injury from improperly positioned safety
be lts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.
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.
F ig . 140 H ead re str ain t: v ie w ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.,. Adjus t 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
just the head restraint so that it is as close to this position as possible
r::> fig . 140.
.,. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating position, slide the center head re
straint upward at least to the next notch .
Adj usting head restraints
c:;, page 61.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Driv ing without head restraints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of ser ious or fa
tal neck injury dramat ica lly. To help reduce
the risk of in ju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly adj usted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
strain t. Adj ust the head restrain ts so the
upper edge is as even as poss ib le w ith
the top of your head .
If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
Dr ivin g Sa fely 131
that it is as close to this posit ion as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adj ust 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 .
- Ch ildren must a lways be properly re
strained i n a child rest raint that is appro
priate for their age and size
c:;, page 166 .
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupan t 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 . Imp roper seating positions red uce the
effe ct iveness of safety belts and wi ll even in
c rease the r is k of injury and dea th by moving
the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f the body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating posit ion. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu
pants a nd espec ially for children . Therefo re :
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
c:;, .&, .
The following bulletins list on ly some samp le
positions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death . Our hope is that these exam
ples will make you more aware of seat ing po
s itions 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
- neve r ride wit h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- neve r lean up aga inst the instrumen t panel ..,_
140 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.
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 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, b indings, 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
¢ page 212, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 148 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he drive r's seat
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.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 128,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 59,
"" Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 140,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect chi ldren ¢
page 166.
In a collision airbags must inflate within th e
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Th erefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenger to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec
tion in certain frontal collisions ¢
page 128,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 60.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 166.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individual
safety features installed in your Aud i work to
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
Airbag system 145
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, spec ial
modifications to your vehicle may be necessa
ry.
Contact your authorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi Customer Re lations at 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will fi ll the airbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inflate between the steering
whee l and the driver and between the instru
ment panel and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after deploy
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield aga in without inter
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don 't even realize that
the air bags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate with a great deal of force and noth ing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas
senge r 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 upper body in the crash . A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body .
Both front air bags w ill not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the air bag system
depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit.
If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
ev en though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a resu lt of the co llision . Vehicle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and ..,.
•
•