
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po
sition or too close to the airbag can be seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with great force in the blink of an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front passenger seat and head restraint prop
erly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, instrument panel, out of the win
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
r::, page 173. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat¢
page 147.
Driving Safely 131
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incor
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident , your pas
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
.,.. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge
is as even as possible with the top of your
head. If that is not possible , try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
¢ page 132 .
.,.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
.,.. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
¢ page 141 .
.,.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their size and ager::,
page 173.
_& WARNING
..-
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched . By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.
•
•

136 Driving Safely
the luggage compartment to help pre-Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY:
vent items from shifting or flying
1-800-424-9153) or forward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded
1-800-424-9393
down, always use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
or you may write to:
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
NHTSA to help prevent items from flying for-
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas-
U.S. Department of Transporta-
senger compartment.
tion - Never attach a child safety seat tether
strap 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 Administration 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 vehicles, 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:

152 Airbag system
~ fig. 158. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in 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 your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protection .
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3 :00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk
of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag deploys and cause serious personal
in
jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or near or attach them to the area marked
,,A IRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel or the seat backrests; never
place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu
sic players. Such objects could cause seri
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined and the airbags inflate.
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates.
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
~

things on the seat cushion can have the
same effect. If the front passenger fron
tal airbag is turned on, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light light will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The fron t Advanced Airbag System and the
side airbags supplement the protection of
fered by the front three -point safety be lts
with p retensioners and load limiters and the
adjustab le head restraints to he lp reduce the
risk of injury in a wide range of accident and
crash situat ions. Be sure to read the impor
tant information about safety and heed the
WARNINGS in this chapter .
Dep loyment of the Advanced Airbag System
and the act ivation of the safety be lt preten
sioners depend on the dece lerat ion measured
by the crash sensors and registered by the
e lectronic control un it. The amount of infla
tion of the front airbags can also be adapted to the front seat posi tion, depend ing on the
d istance between the respective front seat
and the steering whee l or instrument panel as
registe red by sensors in the seats. Crash se
verity depends on speed and deceleration as
well as the mass and stiffness of the vehicle
or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger s ide, regard less of safety
be lt use, the front passenger f ronta l airbag
will be turned off if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capac itive passenger detec
tion system on the front passenger seat is less
tha n the amount programmed in the electron
ic control unit. The front passenger fronta l air
bag will a lso be turned off if the capa cita nce
measured by the system for the front pa ssen
ger seat equa ls t hat of an infant of abo ut one
yea r of age in one o f the child seats that was
used to cert ify the Advanced Airbag System
under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF li ght
comes on and stays on to tell you when t he
front Adva nced Airbag System o n the passen
ger s ide has been turned off~
page 160 .
Airba g sy stem 15 7
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury w hen an airbag
in flates, always wear safety be lts p ro perly.
- If you are unrestra ined, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your ris k of injury is m uc h higher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
co uld even be killed if yo u are up aga inst
the airbag o r too close to it when it in
flates -even w it h an Advanced A irbag
~ page 147 .
More important things to know about
front airbags
Fi g. 159 In flated front a irbags
Safety belts a re important to he lp keep front
seat occupants in the proper seated position
so that ai rbags can unfold p roper ly and pro
v ide s upplement al pro tect ion in a fron tal col
lis ion .
T he front airbags a re des igned to provide ad
di tional protection fo r the chest and fa ce of
the driver a nd the front seat p assenger when :
- safety belts are worn properly,
- the seats have been positioned so that the
occupant is properly seated as far as poss i
b le from th e airbag ,
- and the head restraints have been properly adjusted .
Because airbags inflate in the bli nk of an eye
with great force, th ings you have on your lap
or have p laced on the seat cou ld become dan
gerous p ro jecti les, and be pushed in to you if
t h e a irbag inf lates.
When an airbag deploys, fine dust is re leased.
This is norma l and is not caused by a fire i n .,,.

158 Airbag sys te m
the vehicle. This dust is made up most ly of a
powder used to lubricate the airbags as they
deploy . It cou ld irritate sk in .
I t is important to remember that whi le the
supp lemental airbag system is designed to re
duce the likelihood of serious injuries, other
in ju ries, for example swelling, bruising and
minor abrasions, can also happen when air
bags inflate. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body . Front airbags
supplement the three-poi nt safety belts only
in some frontal co llisions in which the vehicle
dece lerat ion is high enough to deploy the air
bags.
Front airbag s will not d eploy:
- if the ignit ion is switched off when a crash
occurs,
- in s ide collisions,
- in rear-end collisions,
- in ro llovers,
- when the crash deceleration measured by
the airbag system is less than the minimum
threshold needed for airbag deployment as
registered by the electronic control unit.
Th e front pa ssenger airbag al so will not
d epl oy :
-when the front passenger seat is not occu
pied,
- when the electrical capacitance measured by
the capacitive passenger detection system
for the front passenger seat indicates that
the passenger side frontal airbag must be
switched off by the electronic control unit (the
PASSENGER A IR B AG OFF light
c;;, page 160 and how they wo rk comes on
and stays on).
.&_ WARNING
Sitting in the wrong position can inc rease
the risk of serious injury in crashes .
- To reduce the r isk of injury when the air
bags inflate, the driver and passengers
must always sit in an upright position,
must not lean against or place any part of their body too close to the area where
the airbags are
located .
- Occupants who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be se
rious ly injured by an airbag as it unfolds
with great force in the blink of an eye
c;;, page 149 .
.&_ WARNING
--A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in -
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
se riously inju red and can be killed if t he
front ai rbag inflates - even w ith an Ad
vanced A irbag System.
- The inflating airbag will h it the c hild seat
or infant car rier with great force and will
smash the child sea t and chi ld against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof.
- Always install rear -fac ing chi ld seats on
the rear seat.
- If you m ust insta ll a rearward fac ing
chi ld seat on the front passenger seat
because of exceptional circumstances
and the PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
ately install the rear-facing child seat in a rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by you r Audi dealer .
.&_ WARNING
= -
Objects between you and the airbag will
i ncrease the r is k of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the a irbag unfolds
or by be ing p ushed in to you as the airbag
i nflates.
- Neve r hold things in yo ur hands or on
your lap when the veh icle is in use.
- Never transpo rt items on o r in the a rea
of the front p assenger sea t. Objects
could move into the a rea of the front air
bags during braking or other sudden ma
neuvers and become dangero us projec
tiles that can cause ser ious personal in-
jury if the a irbags inf late. ..,.

Important safety instructions on the
side airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al
ways properly wear safety belts and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passengers
must know and act accordingly to help the
safety belts and airbags do their job to pro
vide supplemental protection .
A WARNING
An inflating side airbag can cause serious
or fatal injury. Improperly wearing safety
belts and improper seating positions in
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death whenever a vehicle is being
used .
- In order to reduce the risk of injury when
the supplemental side airbag inflates:
-Always sit in an upright position and
never lean against the area where the
supplemental side airbag is located.
- Never let a child or anyone else rest
their head against the side trim panel
in the area where the supplemental
side airbag inflates.
- Always make sure that safety belts are worn correctly,
- Do not let anyone sitting in the front
seat put their hand or any other parts
of their body out of the window.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can inflate without interference.
- Never install seat covers or replace
ment upholstery over the front seat
backs that have not been specifically
approved by Audi.
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags
deploy.
- Damage to the original seat covers or
to the seam in the area of the side air bag module must always be repaired
immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer.
Airbag system 169
- Objects between you and the airbag can
increase the risk of injury in an accident
by interfering with the way the airbag
unfolds or by being pushed into you as
the airbag inflates.
- Never place or attach accessories or
other objects (such as cup holders, tel
ephone brackets, or even large, bulky
objects) on the doors, over or near the
area marked "AIRBAG" on the seat backrests .
- Such objects and accessories can be come dangerous projectiles and cause
injury when the supplemental side air
bag deploys.
- Never carry any objects or pets in the
deployment space between them and
the airbags or allow children or other passengers to travel in this position .
- Always use the built -in coat hooks only
for lightweight clothing . Never leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the
pockets that may interfere with side air
bag deployment and can cause personal
injury in an accident.
- Always prevent the side airbags from be
ing damaged by heavy objects knocking
against or hitting the sides of the seat
backs.
- The airbag system can only be triggered
once. If the airbag has been triggered,
the system must be replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealership.
- Damage (cracks, deep scratches etc .) to
the original seat covers or to the seam in
the area of the side airbag module must always be repaired immediately by an au
thorized Audi dealer .
- If children are seated improperly, their
risk of injury increases in the case of an
accident ~
page 173, Child Safety .
-Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way .
- In a side collision, side airbags will not
function properly if sensors cannot cor rectly measure increasing air pressure in-
side the doors when air escapes through .,.. •
•

186 Child Safety
-Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception
al circumstances.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur
er's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
"" Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
""Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
""Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path¢,&. .
"" Push the child safety se at down with you r
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
"" Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
""Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
""You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retracto r. The con
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
"" Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
""Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING .,__
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 173. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 149, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt buck
le. The belt tongue will pop out of the buck
le.
""Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
IJll-

202 Driving and en vir onm ent
Catalytic converter
Appl ies to vehicles: with gasoline e ngin e
It is very important that your emission con
trol system (catalytic converter) is function
ing properly to ensure that your vehicle is run
ning in an environmentally sound manner .
.. Always use lead-free gasoline¢ page 215,
Fuel supply .
.. Never run the tank down all the way to emp-
ty .
.. Never put too much motor oil in your engine
¢ page 229, Adding engine oil
The catalytic converter is an eff ic ient "clean
up" device built into the exhaust system of
the vehicle. The catalyti c converter burns
many of the pollutants in the exhaust gas be
fore they are released into the atmosphere.
The exclus ive use of unleaded fuel is cr itically
important for the l ife of the cata lytic convert
e r and proper functioning of the engine.
A WARNING
T he temperature of the exhaust system is
high, both when driving and after stopping
the engine .
- Never touch the exhaust tail pipes once
they have become hot. This could result
in burns.
- Do not park or operate the vehicle in
areas where the hot exhaust system may
come in contact with dry grass, brush,
fuel spill or other material which can
cause a fire.
- Do not apply additional undercoating or
rustproofing on or near the exhaust
man ifold, exhaust p ipes, catalytic con
verter or heat shields . During driving, the
substance used for undercoating cou ld
overheat and cause a fire.
@) Note
- Be aware that just one tank f illing with
leaded fuel will al ready seriously de
grade the perfo rmance of the cata lytic
conve rter. -
Do not exceed the correct engine oil level
¢page 229.
-Do not drive until the fue l tank becomes
completely empty . The engine co uld m is
fire . Unburned fuel could also get into
the exhaust system and this cou ld cause
the catalytic converter to overheat.
- Do not switch off the ignition while the
vehicle is mov ing .
- Do not continue to ope rate your vehicle
under these conditions, as otherwise fuel
can reach the catalyt ic converter. Th is
cou ld result in overheating of the con
verter, requir ing its replacement .
- To assure efficient operation of the Emis
sion Control System:
- Have you r vehicle maintained p roperly
and in accordance w ith the service rec
ommendations in your Warranty & Maintenance book let.
- Lack of prope r maintenance as we ll as
improper use of the vehicle wi ll impair
the function of the em ission contro l
system and could lead to damage.
@) For the sa ke of the en vironment
Even when the Emission Control System is
ope rat ing properly, the exhaust gas can
have a sulfur-like exhaust gas smell under
some operat ing states. This depends on
the sulfur content of the fuel being used .
Usi ng a different brand of fuel may help,
or f illing the tank with lead-free super
grade gasoline.
Diesel particulate filter
Applies to vehicles: with diese l eng ine
The diesel part icu late filter filters nearly all of
the soot pa rticles out of the exhaust . T he fil
te r cleans itself automat ica lly unde r no rma l
dr iv ing cond itions . If the filte r cannot clean it
self (for example, because you are on ly driving
short distances), the filter becomes clogged
with soot and the
II symbol for the diesel
particulate filter ill uminates ¢
page 22. ..,.