
140 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 149. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup
posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini
mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
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 already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
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
selves but also the driver and othe r passen
gers ~
fig. 150. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver 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 !
Fig. 151 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference. Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle .
Safety belts attach passengers 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
period of ti me, the safety belts make the
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 r isk 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 no t enough decelera tion
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 correctly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned properly on
the body .
- Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being d riv
en .
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of be ing injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects in or on your clothing, such as
eye glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause injury.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat
hardware .
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion .
Safety belts 141
-Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latch
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that
create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev
er, special clips may be requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen . Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel~
ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 212.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 152 Bel t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

1 7 0 Airbag syst em
larger, unclosed openings in the door
panel.
- Never drive w ith inter ior door trim pan
e ls removed.
- Never drive when parts have been re moved from the ins ide doo r panel and
the openings they leave have not been p roperly closed.
- Never d rive when loudspeakers in the
doors have bee n removed unless the
spea ker holes have been properly
closed.
-Always ma ke certa in that openings are
covered or fi lled if additional speakers
or other equ ipment is installed in the
inside door panels.
- Always have work on the doors done by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop .
Side curtain airbags
Description of side curtain airbags
The side curtain airbag system can provide
supplemental protection to properly restrain
ed occupants.
Fi g. 1 65 Side curtain a irbags, d river 's side: s ide curta in
a ir bag location
The s ide curtain airbags are located o n both
sides of the interior above the front and rea r
side windows
c:.> fig. 165 . They are ident ified
by the word "AIRBAG" on the windshield
frame and the center roof p illar.
The s ide curtain airbag system supp lements
the safety belts and can help to reduce the risk of injury for occupants' heads and upper
torso o n the side of the vehicle tha t is struc k in a side collision
. The side curtain airbag in
flates in side impacts and only when the vehi cle acceleration registered by the control un it
is h igh enough . If this rate is below the refer
ence value programmed into the control unit,
the side airbags will not be triggered, even
t h ough the car may be bad ly damaged as a re
su lt of the co llision .
It is not possib le to de
fine an airbag triggering range that will cover every possib le ang le of impact, s ince the cir
cumstances will vary cons iderably between
one collision and another. Important factors
include, for example, the nature (hard or soft)
of the impacting object, the angle of impact,
vehicle speed, etc .
c:,, page 171, How side cur
tain airbags work .
Aside from their normal safety function, safe
ty belts work to help keep the driver or front
passenger in position in the event of a colli
sion so that the side curtain airbags can pro
vide protection .
The airbag system is not a substit ute for your
safety belt . Rather, it is part of the overall oc
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. Al
ways remember that the a irbag system can
only help to protect you if you are wear ing
you r saf ety belt and wearing it properly . This
is anothe r reason why yo u should always wear
yo ur safe ty belts, no t just because the law re
quires yo u to do soc:.>
page 138, General
notes .
It is important to remember that w hile the
s ide cur tain airbag system is designed to help
reduce the likelihood of ser ious injur ies, other
injuries, for example, swelling, bruising, fric
tion burns and minor abrasions can also be as
sociated w ith these airbags upon dep loyment.
Remember too, these airbags will deploy only
once and only in certain kinds of accidents -
your safety belts are always there to offer pro
tection.
The side curtain airbag sy stem basic ally
cons ists of:
- The electronic control module and external
side impact sensors ..,..

Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 139, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adu lts.
Because children's bod ies are not fully deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury .
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your chi ld's size ~
page 177, Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter.
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 173
straints are on the front passenger seat . Be
cause of the large amount of important infor
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this owner's manual about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport
ing children on the front passenger seat .
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 chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle . An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str ikin g the interior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An un re
strained or improper ly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal
led and used at one of the rear seating
positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in
jured or even killed when an a irbag in
flates. A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on the front passen
ger seat will be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates .
- The inflating airbag will h it the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door.
•
•

184 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sult in serious personal injury o r dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
t io nal circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is sw itch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
doe s not come on and stay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 159, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off th e fron t pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 138, Safety
belts,¢ page 147, Airbag system
and
¢ page 173, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety bel ts for the rear sea ts and the front
passenger can be locked with the conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenge r's seat safety belt have a co n
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the sa fety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
duri ng norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o n ly be prope rly insta lled when t he safety belt
i s loc ked so that the ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system , all
c h ildren, especially thos e 12 years and young
er, sho uld alw ays r ide in the back seat prope r
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Im prop erly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in
crease the risk o f serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the sa fe ty bel t re
trac to r i s loc ked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locke d safety belt re
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ic h the center rear safety
be lt* is attached is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter sa fety belt is
be ing used to secu re a child rest raint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child res traint will be
throw n forward togethe r with t he back
rest and will strike part s of t he vehi cle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed.
- Never insta ll re ar-f acing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat ..,.

proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchora ges
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS ¢
page 173,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
Fig. 175 Lower anchorages: p roper mo unting
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place¢
fig. 175 .
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
s ure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child restra int
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions .
Child Safety 189
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
& WARNING ~
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat
is not secure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the veh i
cle .
& WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
-Always read and heed the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child safety and the installation of child re
straint systems¢
page 173, Child Safe
ty.
-

190 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 176 Tethe r ancho rs: recess flaps behind the rear
seatbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located in recesses i n the rear win
dow shelf ~ fig.
176
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for·
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the r isk of head
in ju ry that could be ca used by striking the ve
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restra ints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U .S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requ irements make a
tether necessary on most new child safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of child restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
stra int you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in ·
jury in a co llision. Th e anchors are de·
sign ed to withstand only those loads im
posed by cor rect ly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int. -
Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attac h any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If you must install a rearwa rd facing
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-fac ing ch ild
safety seat i n a rea r seating position and
have the airbag system inspe cted by your
Aud i dea ler.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 177 Tet her strap: proper rou ting and mounting
Installing the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to t he child re
s traint manufacturer's instructions.
.,. Guide the upper te ther s trap
under the rear
head restra int ~ fig.
177 (ra ise the head re
stra int if necessary) .
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage .
.,. Pull on the tethe r strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly fo llow ing the
child res traint manufa cturer's instructions. .,.

212 Vehicle care and cleaning
Component Situation Solution
Decorative
Dirty Mild soap solutional, a cleaning solution suitab le for
parts/ sta inless steel, if necessary
trim
Paint
Paint damage Refer to the paint number on the vehicle data label, re-
pair with touch up paint
q page 280
Spilled fuel Rinse with water immediately
Rust film Rust
film remover, then protect with hard wax; for ques-
tions, refer to an authorized Audi dea ler or a qualified
workshop
Corrosion Have it removed by an autho rized Aud i dealer or a quali-
fied workshop
Water no longer Protect with hard wax (at least twice per year)
beads on the surface
of clean paint
No shine even T
reat with suitable polish; then app ly paint protectant if
though paint has the polish that was used does not contain any protec-
been protected/
tant
pa int looks poor
Carbon parts Dirty Clean tlhe same way as painted parts qpage 210, Car
washes
a ) Mild soap so lution: maximum two tablespoons neut ra l soap in a lite r of water
Cleaning interior
Component Situation Solution
Windows
Dirty Glass cleaner, then wipe dry
Decorative Dirty Mild soap
solutional
parts/
trim
Plastic parts
Dirty Damp cloth
Heavily soiled Mild soap solutional, solvent-free plastic cleaning sol u-
tion, if necessary
Displays Dirty Soft cloth with LCD cleaner
Controls Dirty Soft brush, then a soft cloth with a mild soap solutional
Safety belts Dirty Mild soap solutional, allow to dry before letting them re-
tract
...