
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on air bags a lone for protec tion.
E ven when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection . Ai rbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with a irbags, all
veh icle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to min i
mize t he risk of severe injury or death in a
crash .
Remember too, that airbags wi ll deploy on ly
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have a lready deployed . U nbelted
occupants ca n also be thrown out of the vehi
cle whe re even mo re severe o r fa tal in ju ries
can occur .
It is also impo rtant fo r the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrec tly. Unbe lted passen
ge rs i n the rea r seats endanger no t on ly them
se lves bu t also the driver a nd o ther passen
gers
¢ fig. 126 . In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward vio lent ly, where they can
h it and injure the dr iver and/or front seat pas
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it 's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
F ig . 127 D river is correctly restra ined in a sud den bral<·
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety be lts he lp to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
Safety belts 131
applied to the body in an accident, and he lp
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
ca use serio us injuries . In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and
give t hem the benefit of being s lowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features enginee red into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" t he kinetic energy over a longer
per iod of t ime, the safety be lts make the
fo rces on the body more "tolerable" and less
li kely to ca use inju ry.
Althoug h these examples a re based o n a fron
ta l co llision, safety belts can a lso substantia l
l y red uce the risk of in jur y in other kinds of
cr ashes. So, whethe r you're on a long trip o r
just going to the co rner store, a lways buckle
u p and make sure others do, too . Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
i njured and a much better chance of surviving
an accident. Properly using safety belts also
greatly increases the ability of the supplemen
ta l airbags to do the ir job in a collision . Fo r
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in mos t coun tries including much of
t he United States and Canada.
Althoug h your Aud i is equipped wi th a irbags,
you st ill have to wear the safety be lts p rov id
ed . Front airbags, fo r example, a re activa ted
o nly in some frontal collisions. The fron t air
bags are not act ivated in a ll fron tal coll isions,
in s ide and rear co llisions, in roll ove rs or in
cases where t here is not eno ugh deceleration
through impact to the front of the veh icle.
The same goes for the other a irbag systems in
your Audi . So, always wear your safety belt
and make su re everybody in your veh icle is
properly restrai ned!

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 .

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. ..,.

Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all ch ildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size. 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 safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
has been certified to comply w ith the Requ ire
ments of United States Federa l Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front ai rbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 163.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel tells you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
Q page 147, Monitor
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
front airbag to be turned off.
Airbag system 139
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
c hild but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been turned off by the electronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the contr ol unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
Q page 163), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult or teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non-reclined backrest w ith their feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the seat is on the front
passenger seat
~ page 120, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
Federal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury thro ugh interaction with the
airbag . "Low risk" deployment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
Q page 148, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap
idly inflating passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . The airbag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the child restraint and even
seriously injure the child during inflation. •
•

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.
~
•
•