A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 137
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured.
For recommended tire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
~page 247.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly~
page 136, Loading the luggage com
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a
10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
.
•
•
-Failure to pay attention to the warning
light that come on, could lead to person
al injury.
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 151 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 152 The vehicle cras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies w ith veh icle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy "kinetic en
ergy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
c:::;, fig. 151, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
mov ing just before the crash, until something
stops them - here, the wall ¢
fig. 152.
Safety belts 141
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision.
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50
km/h), the forces acting on the body can
reach one ton (2,000 lbs, or 1,000 kg) or
more . At greater speeds, these forces are even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle . In a frontal colli
sion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travelling just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just app ly to frontal collisions, they determine
what happens in all kinds of accidents and col
lisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 153 A driver not wea ring a safety be lt is vio lently
th rown forward
Fig. 154 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
w ill fly forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained .,..
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important informat ion
and heed the WARNINGS for important de
tails about chi ldren and Advanced Airbags
~ page 175.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
a ll chi ldren, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age and si ze. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide .
The front seat is not the safest place fo r a
chi ld in a fo rward-facing chi ld seat. It can be a
very dange ro us p lace for an infant or a ch ild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cert ified to comp ly with the require
men ts of United States Federa l Mo tor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup
p ressed") if a child up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard ~
page 177.
The PASS ENG ER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel tells you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control u nit.
Each t ime you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied ,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance
measured by the capacitive passenger de
tection system for the front passenger seat
A irbag sys tem 151
equa ls the combined capacitance of an in
fant up to about one year of age and one of the rearward-facing or forward-facing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified . For a listing of the child restraints
that were used to certify your vehicle's com p lia nce w ith the U.S. Safety Standard
~ page 177.
-w ill stay on if t he re is a small ch ild or child
restrai nt on the front passenge r seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is oc
cupied by an adult as registered by the ca
pacitive passenger de tection system
~ page 161, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lec trica l capacitance registe red on the
front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward -facing chi ld restraints listed in Feder
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System in your ve
hicle was certified.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-o ld child but less than the
weight of a small adu lt, the front airbag on
the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passen
ger side has not been turned off by the e lec
tron ic contro l unit and can deploy if the con
t rol unit senses an impact that mee ts the co n
di tions s to red in its memo ry.
For example, th e airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is i n one of
the ch ild seats listed~
page 177), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
IIJ,
•
•
156 Airbag sys te m
If the tota l electrical capacitance registe red
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typ ica l 1 year-old, but less than the
weight of a small adult, the front a irbag on
the passenger side may deploy (the
PA SSE N
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on).
For e xample , the airbag m ay deploy 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 seats listed
¢ page 177),
-a chi ld 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 in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
d uce the risk of injury through interaction
with the airbag. "Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control un it
¢ page 161.
Alw ays rem ember : Even though your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
place 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 a ll of the WARNINGS.
.&_ WARNING
To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in
flates - even with an Advanced Airbag
¢page 149.
.&_ WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even w ith an Ad
van ced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh 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 passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild seat
or infant carrier with great force and will
smash the child seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re
straints on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immed i
a tely insta ll the rear-facing child seat in a
rear seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
.&_ WARNING ,..___
If, in except iona l circumstances, you m ust
install a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure 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 p ut the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
-
164 Airbag sys te m
cushion wit h his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is n ot reclined,
- the adu lt is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or support
ing their weight on the armrest,
- the safety be lt is being properly worn and
that there is not a lot of slack in the safety
belt webbing,
- there are no aftermarket seat covers or
cushions or other things (such as b lankets)
on the front passenger seat that might
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system to miscalculate electrical capac i
tance .
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-If the status of the Advanced A irbag Sys
tem has changed wh ile the vehicle is
moving, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light blinks for about 5 seconds to catch
the drive r's attent ion.
If this happens, al
ways s top as soon as it is safe to do so
and check the steps described above.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go off when an adu lt who is no t
very small is sitting on the front passen
ger seat after taking the steps described
above, make sure the adult is properly
seated and restrained at one of the rear
seating pos itions. Have the a irbag sys
tem inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer before transpo rting anyone on the
front passenger seat.
A WARNING , --
An airbag system that is not funct io ning
prope rly cannot provide supplemental p ro
tect ion in a fron tal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light ~ page 19
comes when the vehicle is be ing used,
have t he system inspected immedi ate ly
by yo ur authorized Aud i dea ler .
It is pos
sible that the airbag will inflate when it is not supposed to, or will not
inflate
when it should.
A WARNING
-If the front airbag inflates, a child without
a child restraint, or in a rearward-facing
chi ld safety seat, or in a forward -facing
chi ld restraint that has not been proper ly
i nstalled w ill be seriously injured and can
b e killed.
- Even though you r vehicle is equipped
with an Adva nced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espe cial ly 12
ye ars and you nger, always ride on the
back seat properly rest rained for their
age and size .
- Always inst all forward o r rear-fa cing
child seats on the rear sea t - even with
an Advanced Airbag System.
- If you must ins tall a rearwa rd -facing
child seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not appear and stay on, immediate
ly install the rear-facing child seat in a
rea r seat ing pos ition and have the airbag
sys tem inspected by you r Audi dealer .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you
m ust install a forward-fac ing c hild re
straint on the front passenger seat, al
ways move the seat into its rearmos t po
sition in the se at's fore and aft adjust
men t range, as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible . The backrest mus t be ad just
ed to an upright pos ition . Make su re that
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time when
ever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
-
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not go out when an adult is sitting
on the front passe nger seat after taking
the steps described above, make su re the
adu lt is prope rly seated a nd restra ined at
one o f the rea r seat ing pos itions.
~
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 171
- 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 175, 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 .,.. •
•
174 Airbag system
-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without interference.
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in a colli
sion.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the side windows if things such as pens, ga
rage door openers, hands-free speakers,
etc. are attached to the sun visors. They
could come loose and cause serious in
jury if the side curtain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction
of a second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in
the deployment zone of a side curtain
airbag.
- The airbag deployment zones must be
kept clear at all times. Make sure there
are no objects, pets, or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the
doors.
A WARNING
-The airbag system can deploy only once.
If the airbag has been triggered, the sys
tem must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur
tain airbag system, removal and installa
tion of the airbag components, or other
repairs performed by a qualified dealer
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work correctly.
- Never attempt to modify any compo
nents of the airbag system in any way.
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 141, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adu lts 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
ad ults.
Because children's bod ies a re not fu lly deve l
oped, they require restraint systems especial l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many co untries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requ iring the use of approved ch ild 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) infa nt w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child . T his means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than
260 pounds ( 120 kg). Under these conditions,
on ly an appropr ia t e chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restra ints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp
erly, they can increase the risk of ser ious in
jury in an accident.
Consult the ch ild safety seat manufacture r's
instr uctions in order to be sure the seat is
right fo r you r ch ild's size ~
page 179, Impor
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the impo rtant informat ion and WARNINGS
about ch ild safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
i nstallation of child rest raints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced A irbags in your vehicle and how they
wo rk when infants and children in child re-
Child Sa fet y 175
stra ints are on the front passenge r seat . Be
ca use of the large amount of important infor
mation, we cannot repeat it a ll here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in th is
owner's manua l about airbags and the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport
ing children on the front passenge r seat .
Please be sure to heed the WARN INGS -they
are ex tremely importa nt for yo ur safety and
the safety o f you r passengers, especially in
f ants and small chi ldren .
.A, WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that c hil
dren a re generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un der in the rea r.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil
dren must be restrai ned p roperly when
eve r riding in a vehicle . An unr est rained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
in ju red by str iking the interio r or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuve r or impac t. An un re
strained or improper ly restrai ned ch ild is
also at greater risk of injury o r death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal
led and used at one of the rear seat ing
positions p rov ides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING
Ch ildren on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags ca n be ser iously in
ju red or even kil led when an a irbag in
fla tes. A child in a rearwar d-fac ing ch ild
safety seat installed on t he front passen
ger seat will be ser iously injure d and ca n
be killed i f the front airbag inflates .
- T he infla ting air bag will h it the ch ild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrie r wi th great
force and will smash the child safe ty seat
an d child against the bac krest , center
armrest, or door .
•
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