
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positio ned cor rectly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
r::!:> page 53, Seats and storage.
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in p lace before using the belt¢,&. .
... Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
r::!:> ,&. .
"" Inse rt the tongue into the co rrect buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
r::!:> fig. 128.
•Pullon the be lt to make su re that it is se-
c u rely la tched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea
ture locks the belt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing 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 driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a be lt pre
tensioner that helps to t ighten t he safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature¢
page 171.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
r::!:> page 133, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 133
be lts are proper ly 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 be lt
effectiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by t he safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the conve rtible locking re
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
r::!:> page 173.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig . 1 29 Safety belt pos ition
-Ill
9 :c
~
Standard features on your veh icle he lp yo u ad
just the pos ition o f the safety belt to matc h
you r body size .
- he ight-adjustable front seats.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can
cause serious perso na l inju ry in an acci
dent .
-
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to
the center of the co llar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the be lt above the latc h tongue and pull it
eve nly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possib le on the pelv is and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt ..,_

134 Safety belts
should always fit snugly¢ fig. 129. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 129 . Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 132.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
Fig. 130 Safety be lt pos it ion during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's
body ¢page 133 .
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly ¢
page 53, Seats and storage.
... 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
even
ly across the chest and pelvis¢ fig. 130,
¢,&. .
... Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 132, fig. 128 .
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious personal injury in an acc i
dent.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢&.
in Fas
tening safety belts on page 133 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 131 Releas ing t he ton gue fro m the buck le
... Push the red release button on the buckle
¢ fig. 131. The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
,&..
... 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
risk 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
¢ ,& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of serious 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 posit ion whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c:>page 132.
Safety belt preten
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned
automatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sen
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
great severity. This tightens the belt and takes
up be lt slack
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of
Safety belts 13 5
safety belt pretensioner on page 136. Taking
up the slack he lps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
Q) Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat
back that has been fo lded forward.
(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 be lt pretensioner are
not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety
belt pretensioners will activate on the
driver's or front passenger's sides only,
depending on which side of the vehicle
the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
activated, 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. An au
thorized Aud i dealer or qualified work
shop is familiar w ith these regu lations
and will be pleased to pass on the infor
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, env iron
menta l and other regu lations 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
pretensioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Aud i. Insta lling, remov
ing, servicing or repair ing of be lt pretension-
ers can damage the safety belt system and .,.
•
•

136 Safety belts
prevent it from working correctly in a
collision.
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 .
.&_ WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly:
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once . If belt pretensioners
have been activated , the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal ,
in5tallation and di5po5al of thi5 5y5tem.
-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.
@) 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/haza rdouswaste/per
chlorate. When the vehicle or parts of the restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts 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 .

138 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or s oft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or re ar collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed; for example , when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts ¢
page 129 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from t he steer ing wheel, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestr ained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 132, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let c hildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 120.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move i nto the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag d uring br akin g or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air
bags can become projec tiles and cause
inj ury when an airbag inflates.
.&, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness i n a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information
and head the WAR NINGS for important de
t ails about children and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 161. ..,.

140 Airbag sys tem
For this reason, and because t he bac k seat is
the safest place for children - when prop erly
restra ined according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 161, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he front a irbag inflates - even wit h an Ad
v a nced Airb ag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you mus t inst all a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
au thorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfer e wi th the deployment of the air
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always m ake su re the forw ard-fa cing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufact urer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re
st raint up aga inst or very near the inst ru
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft ad
justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht w ill be displayed whenever a child re
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de
scribed
Q page 147, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly 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 author ized Audi dealer immed iate
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward or rearwa rd -facing child
r estra int on t he front passenger's seat :
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
p revent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch il d restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as it de
p loys and seriously injure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advance d Airbag
System.
- Always caref ully follow the m anu factur
er 's ins truc tio ns p rov ided with the ch ild
safety sea t or carrier .

-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat o ccupan ts.
F ig . 13 2 Location of driver airbag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 133 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a va lve, depending
on the distance between the respect ive seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten
sioners" that he lp to take slack out of the belt
system . The pretensioners are also activated
by the electron ic contro l unit for the airbag
sys tem.
A irba g sy stem 141
The front sa fety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub
q fig. 132 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 133 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the ai r
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read t he
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety i n this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of yo ur passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
N ever rely on airbags alone for protec tion.
- E ven w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s uppleme nta l pro tect ion .
- Airbag work most effective ly when used
wit h properly wor n safety belts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safe ty belts
and make sure that eve rybody i n your ve
hicle is p rope rly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the fron t passe nger seat, es
pe cial ly infants and sma ll children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenge r airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these specia l
conditions is imposs ible i n all conceiva
b le sit uat ions that may happen during
t he u seful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with t he "low risk" option
un der the U.S. Fede ral Standa rd if a child
that is he avie r than the typical one-year
-
..

Fo r exa mple, the airbag may depl oy if:
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 163),
-a ch ild who has outgrown child rest raints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off , the
PA SSENGER AIR B AG OFF light in the center
of the inst rument panel w il l come on and stay
on.
The front a irbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w ith
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the veh icle floo r in front
of the sea t is on the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk " deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of inj ury through in teraction
with the airbag . "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control unit.
¢ page 147
Alway s remember : Even though you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed all of the WARNINGS.
_&. WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly .
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much highe r.
- You w ill also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in-
A irbag system 143
flates - even with an Advanced Ai rbag
¢page 137.
_&. WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced A irbag System .
-Although the Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle is designed to turn off the
front airbag when a rearward-facing child restraint has been instal led on the
front passenge r seat, nobody can abso
lutely guaran tee that dep loymen t is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen during the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door, or roof .
-Always install rearward -facing chi ld re
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-fa cing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make s ure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru-
ment panel.
~
•
•