102 Safet y belt s
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig . 97 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
F ig. 98 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt will
fly forward a nd strike the d river
Unbelted occupants are not able to res ist the
tremendous fo rces of impact by holding tight
or brac ing thems elves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unres trained o c
cupa nt w ill slam vio lent ly into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, winds hield, or what
ever else is in the way
q fig . 97 . This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Neve r rely on airbags a lone for p rotection .
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
addit ional protection . Airbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver, must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i
mize the risk of severe inju ry or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that a irbags will deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always there to offe
r protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to dep loy or
when they have already dep loyed . Unbelted
occupa nts can also be thrown o ut of the ve hi
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur .
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them
se lves but also the driver and othe r passen
gers¢
fig. 98 . In a frontal coll is ion they w ill
be th rown forward violently, where they can
hi t and i njur e the d river a nd/or fro nt sea t pas
senger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to us e the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 9 9 Driver is proper ly restrained in a sudden brak
in g maneuve r.
Safety be lts used p roperly can make a big dif
fere nce. Safe ty belts help to keep passengers
in the ir seats, gradua lly reduce energy leve ls
applied to the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that ca n
ca use serio us inju ries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
S afety be lts attach passenge rs to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t i me, the safety be lts make th e
lilJJ,
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial
ly reduce the risk of injury in other kinds of
crashes. So, whether you're on a long trip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of being
injured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident . Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in most countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags ,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions. The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, in roll overs or in
cases where there is not enough deceleration
through impact to the front of the vehicle .
The same goes for the other airbag systems in
your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt
and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly 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 .
Safety belts 103
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas
sengers are properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in cluding small children, into any single
safety 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 feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve
hicle is moving . Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these
may cause injury .
- Never wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce their effectiveness .
- 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
correct use of some child restraint sys
tems .
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware.
- 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 .,..
L,_ _______________ _J
•
•
104 Safety belts
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop. Replacement may be necessa
ry 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
c:> page 174, Safety belts.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
,
Fig. 100 Belt buck le an d tongue o n the driver' s seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
• Adjust the fron t sea t and he ad restraint
properly
c:> page 54, General recommenda
tions .
• Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest and pelvis
c:> &-
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c:> fig. 100.
• 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.
T he belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve.
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts on the front seats are equip
ped with a belt pretensioner that helps to
tighten the safety belt and remove slack when
the pretensioner is activated. The function of
the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light
c:> page 15 .
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
c:> page 140.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
c:> page 105, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
-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 cr itical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the- convertible locking re tractor when you are securing a child seat in the vehicle
c:> page 142 .
Safety belt position
Correct be.It position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 1 01 Safety belt pos it io n
Standard features on yo ur vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- height-adjustable front seats.
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- T he shoulder be lt shou ld 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
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 be lt
should always fit snugly
c:> fig . 101 . Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- The lap belt port ion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never ove r the abdo
me n. Ma ke su re the be lt lies flat and
snug
c:> fig. 101 . Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary .
- A loose-fi tt ing safety be lt c an cause seri
o us inj uries by s hifting 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 WARN INGS and
other important info rmation
c:> page 103.
Safety belts 105
Pregnant women must also be properly
, restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts corre ctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
Fi g. 102 Safety be lt po sit ion d uring preg nancy
To provide max imum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body
c> page 105.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c:> p age 54 , General recommenda
t ions .
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in upright position and securely
latched in p lace befo re using the belt.
.,. Hold the belt by t he tongue and pull it
even ly across the ches t and pelv is
c> fig.10 2,c> .&., .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buck le of
your seat unti l yo u h ear it latch securely
<=> page 104, fig. 100 .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buck le.
& WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety belts can
cause ser ious persona l inju ry in an acc i
dent.
-
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap port ion of the safety belt as low as
possible a cross the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read a nd heed all WAR NIN GS a nd
o ther impo rtant inform ation
c:> & in Fas
tening safety belts on page 104.
106 Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 103 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
• Push the red release button on the buckle
c> fig. 103. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ~
,A.
0 r-N 0 ±.
"' a,
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi
cle is moving . Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se
rious injury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on the body . Improper seating positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety belts and will even
increase the risk of injury and death by mov
ing the safety belt to critical areas of the
body. Improper seating positions also in
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the correct seating posi
tion . A driver is responsible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil
dren. Therefore:
• Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c>,&. .
A WARNING
-Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of ser ious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
~ page 103.
Safety belt preten
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front and side collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts in use are tensioned au
tomatically .
The safety belts for the front seating positions
are equipped with safety belt pretensioners .
The system is activated by sensors in front
and side collisions of great severity. This tight
ens the belt and takes up belt slack
c> .&. in
Service and disposal of safety belt preten
sioner on page 107.
Taking up the slack helps
to reduce forward occupant movement during
a collision.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once .
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear -end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact
force, the safety belt pretensioner are
not activated.
- When the safety belt pretensioner is ac
tivated, a fine dust is released. This is normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo
nents of the system are scrapped. A
qualified dealership is familiar with
II>
these regulations and will be pleased to pass on the information to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or individual parts of the system, par
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this
service for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension
ers can damage the saf ety belt system and
prevent it from working correctly in a colli
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or pol
lute the environment .
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretens ioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once.
If belt pretens ioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems includ ing safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified technician who has an Audi approved re
pair manual, training and special equip
ment necessary .
Safety belts 107
@:) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -special handling may apply, see
www . dtsc. ca.gov/hazard o u swa ste/ per-
ch lo rate . When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety be lts with pretensioners are scrap
ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you. •
•
108 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 91,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=:;page 55,
• Wear safety be lts properly r=; page 103,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect children¢
page 130.
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 are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenge r
compa rtment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemental protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r=:; page 91,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For detai ls
on the operat ion of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 55 and c:, page 56.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained ¢
page 130.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the drive r side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents yo
u from sitting properly
o n 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, o r call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi
fica tions to your ve hicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will f il l the a irbags, break open t he pad
ded cove rs, and inflate between t he steering
whee l and the dr ive r and be tween the instru
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
me nt so that the front occupants can see
t hr ough 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
t h e airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their w ay 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 hitti ng pa rts 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 airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused 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 whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that will cover every possible kind and
angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed ,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certain kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro
tection in those situations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
already deployed ; for example , when your ve
hicle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi
tute for a safety belt. The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
c::;, page 100 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the steering wheel or instrument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, investi
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and could even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
Airbag system 109
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly
c::;, page 104, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that children age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severely injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the front seats properly .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steering wheel or the instrument panel
c::;, page 91, Proper occupant seating po
sitions .
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to help prevent serious injuries to the legs
and hips if the airbag inflates.
-Never recline the front passenger's seat
to transport objects. Items can also
move into the area of the side airbag or
the front airbag during braking or in a
sudden maneuver. Objects near the air bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates .
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use only original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools
and diagnostic equipment to properly re
place any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air bags to be installed in your vehicle. •
•