
A WARNING ,~
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely 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 roof*,
- 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 roof* 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.
Gj) 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 .
-
Driving Safely 133
-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
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 244.
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 132, 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
'
•
•

134 Driving Safely
th e lu gg age compartment to help pre-Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
vent items from shiftin g or flying
1-800-424-9153) or forward as dange ro us m iss iles.
- When the rear seat back rest is folded
1-800 -424-9393
down, always use su itab le mounting
st raps a nd pro perly secure items to the
or you may write to:
t ie -downs in t he luggage com partmen t
NHTSA to help prev ent item s fro m flyi ng fo r-
w ar d as dang erous miss iles into th e pas-
U.S. Department of Transporta-
se ng er compartm ent .
tion - N ever at ta ch a child sa fety seat tet her
st rap to a tie- down.
1200 New Jersey Ave., S. E.
Reporting Safety
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
You can also obtain other infor-
mation about motor vehicle
If you believe that your vehicle safety from:
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or http:/ /www. safe rca r. gov
death, you should immediately
Applicable to Canada
inform the National Highway If you live in Canada and you
Traffic Safety Admini stration
believe that your vehicle has a
(NHTSA) in addition to notify- defect that could cause a crash,
ing Audi of America, Inc. injury or death, you should im-
If NHTSA receives similar com- mediately inform Transport
plaints, it may open an investi- Canada, Defect Investigations
gation, and if it finds that a and Recalls. You should also no-
safety defects exists in a group tify Volkswagen Group Canada,
of vehic les, it may order a recall
Inc.
and remedy campaign. Howev- Canadian customers who wish
er , NHTSA cannot become in-
to report a safety-related de-
volved in individual problems feet to Transport Canada, De-
between you, your dealer, or feet Investigations and Recalls,
Audi of America, Inc .
may either call Transport Cana-
To contact the NHTSA , you may
da toll-free at:
....
either call:

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 be lts 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 d riv
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 part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion . Safety belts
139
- 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 requ ired 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 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 inertia reel
r::;, page 218, Safety belts .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 151 Bel t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

140 Safety belts
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 50, General recommenda
t ions .
.,. 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. 151.
.,. 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 belt 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 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 ¢
page 143. The function of the pre
tensioner is moni tored by a warning light
¢ page 19.
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 belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the important information about this feature
¢ page 182 .
.,& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 140, Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt* is attached is securely latched
whenever the rear center safety belt is
being used.
If the backrest is not secure
ly 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
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 seat in the vehicle¢
page 184 .
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretension
ers, refer to ¢
page 143.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 152 Safety bel t position
"' .... 0
~ CD

Use the height adjustment to change the posi
tion of the shoulder belt of the front safety
belts .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- The shoulder belt should 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
even ly ac ross the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The be lt
sho uld a lways f it snugly ¢
fig. 152. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause seri
o us injuries by shifting its position on
yo ur body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
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.
Fi g. 153 Safety belt pos itio n during pr egnancy
To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body¢
page 140 .
Safety belts 141
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly ¢
page 50, General recommenda
tions .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelv is
¢ fig. 153, ¢ if:!. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
r=:;, fig. 151 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that i t is se
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious persona l injury in an acci
dent.
- Expectant mothers m ust always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
i=:;, &. in Fas
tening safety belts on page 140.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle has stopped.
,,,,,
Fig . 154 Re leas ing the tong ue from the buck le
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
r=:;, fig. 154 . The be lt tongue will spr ing out
of the buckle
¢ if:!. .
0 ...
"' 0 ±
~
.,. Let the belt w ind up on the retractor as you
guide the be lt tongue to its stowed position.
Ill>

@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
q page 177.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
r::!) page 182.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really 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
9 page 177.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children , especially those 12 years and young
er, should always ride in the back seat proper
ly restrained for their age and size.
.&, WARNING ,~
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
Child Safety 175
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child can be injured or killed by be
ing thrown against the inside of the ve
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats are required to comply with U.S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion . The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side . Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo
men and neck areas during sudden brak
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger. •
•

Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 166 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from chi ldren in child safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,
@-center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the ch ild in the ch ild restra int
cannot reach them
Q ,&. .
- Gu ide the safety belt webbings@and @*
behind the head restraint of the seat whe re
the ch ild restrai nt is installed
Q fig . 166.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha
ble locking retractor! Yo u should not hear a
"clicking" sound when winding up the safety
belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un
used rear seat safety belts and become en
tangled. This could ca use the child serious
personal i nju ry and even death.
- Always secure un used rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts such as by p rope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
whe re the child restraint is installed.
- Never act ivate the sw itchab le locking re
t ractor when rout ing the safety belts
around the head res traints .
- Never le t anyone sit at the center rear
sea ting pos it ion if the cente r rear safety
Child S afety 177
be lt has been ro uted around a rear head
restraint.
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. 167 Schemat ic overv iew: rearward -facing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to preven t the child safe ty seat
from mov ing
Qpage 182 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really 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
Qpage 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant car riers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts be lieve that infants and
small chi ld ren shou ld r ide o nly in special re
str aints in wh ic h t he child faces the back of
the ve hicle. These infant seats suppo rt the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 167.
T he airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
c hi ld to ride. The fron t se at is not t he safest
place for a child in a fo rward -facing child seat . ..,_

belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
r::!>page 182 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments.
"' Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
r::!> page 182.
"' If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::!> page 188.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!> page 177.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg).
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
r::!>fig.168and r:::>fig.169.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat.
It is a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously injured or even killed when an air
bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
-
Child Safety 1 79
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
r:::> page 53. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
r::!> page 136, Safety
belts, r::!> page 145, Airbag system
and
r::!> page 171, Important things to know .
A WARNING ~
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
-
seat or infant carrier . "" •
•