2014 AUDI Q5 belt

142 Driving Safely
unfolds 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.
- 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 safety
seats
c::> page 178. Special precautions
apply when installing a child safety seat
on the front passenger seat
c::> page 15 7 .
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 :
.. If there is a passenger on the rear center
seating pos ition, slide the center head re­
straint upward at least to the next notch
c::> page 65.
.. Make sure that the seatback is securely
latched in the upright position
c::> page 67.
.. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
.. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c::>page 152.
.. Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro­
priate for their size and age
c::> page 178.
_& 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 seatback is securely latch­
ed in the upright position and the safety
belts are properly positioned on the
body. By not sitting upright, a rear seat
passenger increases the risk of personal
injury from improperly positioned safety
belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly
so that it can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
-
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an im­
portant part of your vehicle's occupant re ­
straint system and can help to reduce the risk
of injuries in accident situations.
Fig. 152 H ead restra int: vi ew ed from the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust-
ed to achieve the best protection. .,.

~ Adjust the head restraints so the upper edge is as even as possib le with the top of yo ur
head. If that is not possib le, try to ad just
the head restraint so that it is as close to
th is position as possible¢
fig. 152.
~ If there is a passenger on the rear center
seat ing pos ition, slide the center head re­
stra int upward at least to the next notch .
Adjust ing head restra ints ¢
page 65.
A WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re­
straints. Dr iv ing without head restra ints or
w ith head restra ints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of ser ious or fa­
t al neck injury dr amat ic a lly. To help reduce
t he risk of in jury:
- Alw ays drive with the he ad restraints in
pla ce and properly adjusted.
- E very pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly adj usted head restr aint.
- Always make sure each pe rson in the ve­
hicle properly adjus ts the ir head re­
st rain t. Ad just the head rest rain ts so the
upper edge is as even as possib le with
the top of your head. If that is not possi­
ble, try to adjust the head restra int so
that it is as close to this position as pos­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint wh ile driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the dr iver head rest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safe ly be­
fore attempting to adjust t he head re­
st raint.
- Children must always be properly re­
st rained in a ch ild restraint that is appro­
pr iate for their age and siz e ¢
page 1 78.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re ­
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
properly seated.
Imp rope r seat ing pos it ions can cause serious
in ju ry or death . Safety belts can on ly wor k
when they a re properly posit ioned o n the
Dr iving S afel y 143
body. Improper seating positions re duce the
effectiveness of safety belts and wi ll even in­
crease the r is k of i njury and death by moving
the safety belt to crit ica l areas of the body.
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an a ir ­
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant w ho is
not in the p roper seating posit ion. A dr iver is
responsible fo r the safety of all veh icle occu ­
pan ts and espec ially for children. The re fore :
~ Never allow anyone to assume a n incor rect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
Q ,& .
The following bulletins list on ly some samp le
pos itions tha t will increase the risk of serious
i njury and death . Ou r hope is that these e xam­
ple s will ma ke yo u mo re aware o f seati ng po­
s itions tha t are d angerous.
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- neve r stand up in the vehicle
- neve r stand on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- never ride w it h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out the window
- neve r put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instr ument panel
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cush ion or
back of the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- neve r ride in the cargo area
A WARNING ~
Imp ro p er seating posit ions increase the
risk of serious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu-
pants stay in a proper seating position
and are properly restrained whenever the
veh icle is being used .
-
•
•

Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are nec­
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read all the information that follows and
heed all of the instruc tions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear
safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically
impaired persons must also use safety
belts. Like all vehicle occupants, they are
more likely to be seriously injured if they
do not wear safety belts. The best way to
protect a fetus is to protect the mother -
throughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each
seating position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, in­
cluding small children, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts 149
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safe­
ty belt or child restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and (on USA models only) front seat
passenger to remind you about the impor­
tance of buckling-up.
Fig. 154 Safety belt warning light in the instrument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, always:
~ Fasten your safety belt and make sure you
are wearing it properly.
~ Make sure that your passengers also buckle
up and properly wear their safety belts.
~ Protect your children with a child restraint
system appropriate for the size and age of
the children.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
light s up when the ignition is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi­
tion, you will hear a warning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure
that your passengers also properly put on
their safety belts.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of se­
rious injury and death in automobile acci­
dents. For your protection and that of
your passengers, always correctly wear safety belts when the vehicle is moving.
•
•

150 Safety belts
-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. 155 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig. 156 Th e vehicle c rash es 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
e rgy ."
T he 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 times!
Because the passengers of this veh icle are not
using safety belts¢
fig. 155, 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. 156 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at c ity 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 .
Peop le who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli­
s ion they will also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was t ravell ing just before
the crash . Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply 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. 157 A d river not wea ring a safety b elt is viol en tly
thrown fo rwa rd
Fig . 158 A rear passe nge r not wearing a safety belt
w ill fl y forward and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of i mpac t by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems , the unrestrained
ll-

occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what­
ever else is in the way
r::;; fig. 157. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags 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
veh icle 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 other passen­
gers
r::;; fig. 158. 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. 159 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudden brak­
ing maneuver
Safety belts 151
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 that 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 time, 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 su bsta ntia l­
ly reduce the risk 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 not enough deceleration
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!

152 Safety belts
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 belts 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 driv­
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 pa rt of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos i­
tion . -
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 required 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, buck les, 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 inert ia reel
c::> ta­
ble Cleaning interior on page 219 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 160 B elt buck le and to ngue o n th e drive r's se at

To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 61, General recommenda­
tions .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even­
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckl e of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::>fig. 160.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat­
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. T his fea­
ture locks the belt when 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 pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::>page 16.
Sw itchable locking feature
E very sa fety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped 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
c::> page 188.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
o::> page 153, Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 153
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger w ill move for­
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe­
cially in a crash .
- Never attach th e safety belt to the buck­
le for another seat . Atta ching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce s afety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain ­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c::>page 190.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 161 Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad­
just the position of the safety belt to match you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.

154 Safety belts
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent .
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 161. 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. 161. 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 152.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the pr eg­
nancy.
Fig. 162 Safety be lt pos it io n during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 153.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 61, General recommenda­
tions.
.. 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. 162,
¢ ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 152, fig. 160 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se­
curely latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
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 153.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety bel t wi th the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 163 Releas ing the ton gu e from the bu ckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 163 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
,&.. ..,..