Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adj ustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore on im
portant port of your vehicle's occupant re
straint system and con help to reduce the risk of injuries in occident situations.
F ig . 147 H ead r estr ain t: v ie w ed fro m the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.,. Adjust the head restraint so the uppe r edge
is as even as possib le with the top of your
head. If that is not possib le, try to adjust
the head restraint so that it is as close to
this position as possible
q fig . 147. Move
the head restraint so that it is as close to the back of the head as possible.
Adjusting head restraints
¢ page 56.
_&. WARNING
All seats are equipped with head re
straints. Driving without head restraints or
w ith head restraints that are not properly
adjusted increases the risk of ser ious or fa
tal neck injury dramat ica lly. To help reduce
the risk of inju ry:
- Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every pe rson in the veh icle must have a
properly adjusted head restra int .
-Always make sure each person in the ve hicle properly adjusts their head re
straint. Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is as even as possib le w ith
the top of your head .
If that is not possi
ble, try to adjust the head restraint so
that it is as close to this position as pos-
Dr ivin g Sa fely 12 7
sible. Move the head restraint so that it
is as close to the back of the head as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and must adjust the driver headrest for any
reason, first stop the vehicle safely be
fore attempting to adjust the head re
s traint .
- Ch ildren must always be prope rly re
strained in a child restraint that is appro
pria te fo r their age and size
¢ page 168.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore
properly seated .
Improper seating positions can cause serious
injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are properly positioned on the
body . Improper seating positions reduce the
effectiveness of safe ty belts and will even in
c rease the r isk o f injury and dea th by moving
the safety belt to critica l areas o f the body .
Improper seating positions a lso increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air
bag deploys and str ikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seating position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all veh icle occu
pants and espec ially for children . The refore :
.,. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being
used
q _& .
The following bulletins list only some samp le
pos itions that will increase the risk of serio us
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam
ples will make you more aware of seating po
s itions that are dangerous.
Th erefore , whenever the vehicle is
moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride wit h the seatback reclined
- neve r lie down on the rear seat
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 instructions 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 four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seat ing 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 13 3
-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 front seat passenger (on USA mod
els only) to remind you about the importance
of buckling-up.
Fig. 148 Safety belt warning light in the instr ument
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 children with a child restraint sys-
tem appropriate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is on as a reminder
to fasten the safety belts. In addition, you will
hear a warning tone for a certain period of
time .
Fasten your safety belt 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.
•
•
136 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 205 .
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 154 B elt buck le and to ngue o n th e drive r's se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 53, 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 . 154.
... 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
c::> page 139. The function of the pre
tensioner is mon itored by a warning light
c::> page 18 .
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
c::> page 179.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
c::> page 13 7, Safety belt position.
Safety belts 13 7
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body .
- If the rear seat backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger will move for
ward with the backrest during sudden braking, in a sudde n maneuver and espe
cially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
l e for another seat . Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury.
- A passenge r who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the sa fety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the conve rtible locking re
tractor when you are securing a child seat in the veh icle
~ page 181.
(D Tips
For info rmat ion on safety belt pretension
e rs, refer to
c::> page 139.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 155 Safe ty belt posit ion
Use the height adjustment to change the posi
tion of the shoulder belt
of the front safety
belts.
~
142 Airbag sys te m
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must al
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
• Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 124,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 54,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 136,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children¢
page 168.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to he lp the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supp lemental protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
¢ page 124,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or detai ls
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
t rols ¢
page 54.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained ¢
page 168.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
gers can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
Proper seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver s ide can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con- dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals , or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System ,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi
ficat ions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas gener
ator will f ill the a irbags, break open t he pad
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immediately after dep loy
ment so that the front occupants can see
t h rough the windshie ld again witho ut inter
ruption .
All of th is takes p lace in the b link of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize tha t
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their w ay when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupant's forward movement . T ogether they
help to prevent the drive r and front seat pas
senger from hitting pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant during the crash . In this way they
help to reduce the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash. A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
t rol unit , the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessari ly an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not .
IJll-
Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another , it is not
possible to define a range of veh icle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact that will always trigger the airbags .
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed ,
etc. The front airbags will a lso not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alw ays rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tect ion in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; for example , when your ve
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af
ter the first co llision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supp lementary restraint and is not a s ubsti
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts ¢
page 133.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will inc rease
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi
ga te whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury 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.
A irbag system 143
-To reduce the risk of injury when an air
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 136, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the backrest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 124.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the f loor in front of the seat to
he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag infla tes.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
in ju ry when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Aud i and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
place any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle . •
•
144 Airbag sys tem
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
• Be sure to read the important information
and heed the WARNINGS for important de
ta ils about ch ildren and Advanced Airbags
i=> page 168.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all children, especially those 12 years and
younger, always ride in the back seat properly
restra ined for their age and size. 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
ve ry dangerous p lace for an infant or a c hild in
a rearward -facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comply with the require
men ts of United States Federa l Mo to r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your ve hicle was manufact ured.
The Standa rd requires the fron t air bag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup
p ressed") if a child up to about one yea r of
age restrained in one of the rear-facing or for
ward-facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front
passenger seat. For a listing of the child re
straints that we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Sta ndard
c> page 170.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in
strument panel tells you when the front Ad
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by t he e lectronic control unit.
Each time you sw itch on the ignit ion, the
PAS
SENGER AIR BAG OFF
l ight will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- 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 fro nt passenger seat equa
ls the combined capacitance of an in
fant up to about one year of age and one of
the rearwa rd-facing or forward-fac ing ch ild
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
cert ified. For a listing of the ch ild restraints
that w ere used to certify you r vehicle 's com
plia nce w it h the U.S. Safety Standard
i=>page 170.
- w ill stay on i f the re is a small c hild 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 passenge r de tection system
c> page 154, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System.
T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n electr ica l capacitance regis tered on the
front passenger seat is eq ua l to or less than
t h e comb ined capacitance of a typical 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing child restraints listed in Feder
al Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Airbag System i n your ve
hicle was cert ified .
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
of a typical 1 year-old child but less than the
we ight 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
t ron ic cont ro l unit and can deploy if the con
t ro l u nit se nses an impa ct that mee ts the con
di tions s to red in its memory.
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier th an a typical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whether the child is in one of
the ch ild seats listed
c::;, page 170), o r
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat. ..,.
If the fron t passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OF F light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to reduce
the r isk of injury through interaction with the
airbag. "Low r isk" deployment occurs in those
crashes that take place at lower decelerations
as defined in the electronic control un it
c::> page 155, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remember, a child seat or infant carri
er installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rap idly in
flating passenger's a irbag i n a frontal colli
sion . The airbag could greatly reduce the ef
fectiveness of t he ch ild restraint and even se
r io usly inju re the child d uring inflat io n.
For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for chi ldren - when properly
restra ined accord ing to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
c::> page 168, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward -facing child seat in
stalled on the front passenger seat will be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag w ill hit the child seat
or infant carrier w ith great force and w ill
smash the ch ild seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child seat on the front passenge r seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances
and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi
a tely ins tall the rea r-facing chi ld seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer.
A irbag system 145
-Forwa rd-facing child seats installed on
the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the dep loyment of the airbag and
cause serious persona l injury to the
child.
A WARNING
If, in except ional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenge r's seat:
- Always ma ke sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacture r for use on a front seat
with a passenger fron t and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the fo rward-facing child re
s tra int up against or ve ry near the instru
men t panel.
- Always move the passenge r seat into its
rea rmost pos ition in the se at's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int . The
backrest must be adj usted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re
straint is insta lled on the front passenge r
se at and the ignition is sw itched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, perform the checks de
scribed
c::> page 154, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- T ake the chi ld restraint off t he front pas
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of the rear seat positions i f the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your Aud i dea ler immediately.
•
•