2014 AUDI S4 seats

140 Safety belts
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
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 other passen­
gers ~
fig. 146. 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 . 147 Driver is co rrectly restrained in a s udden brak ·
i n g m an euve 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 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 substantial­ 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 veh icle 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!

142 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly ¢
page 58, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition 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¢.&, .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
¢ fig . 148.
.,. Pull on the be lt to m ake s ure th at it is se-
curely latched in the b uckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automat­
ic belt retractor on the shoulder be lt . T his fea­
ture locks the be lt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard bra king and in an acci dent.
The belt may also lock when yo u drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pret ensioners
The sa fe ty belts are equippe d wi th a be lt pre­
tensioner that helps to tigh ten the safety bel t
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac­
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light¢
page 20 .
Switchable locking feature
Every sa fe ty belt ex cep t the one on the dr iver
seat is eq uipped w it h a switchable locking fea ­
ture that
mu st be used w hen the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat . Be sure to
read the important inf ormation abo ut this
feature
¢page 177.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 142, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is up right and
-
be lts are properly posit ioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rea r center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not secure ly
latched, t he passenger w ill move for­
ward with the ba ckr est dur ing sudd en
bra king, in a sudden maneuver and es pe­
ci ally in a crash .
- Neve r attach the safety be lt to t he buck­
le for an other sea t. At taching the belt to
the wrong buckle will redu ce s afe ty be lt
effec tiveness and can cause serio us per ­
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain­
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself w hen it moves from the stro n­
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always loc k the convertible locking re­
tractor when you are secu ring a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c:> page 179 .
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 149 Safe ty bel t pos it ion
Standard features on your veh icle help you ad ­
j u st the pos ition of the safety be lt to match
you r body si ze.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the
rear seats .

_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci­
dent.
- The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body. Ho ld the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pe lvis and there is
no press ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways f it snugly¢
fig. 149 . Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo ­
me n. Make sure the be lt lies flat and
snug¢
fig . 149. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitt ing safety belt can cause seri­
ous in juries by sh ifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause se rious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 141.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure tha t expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg­
nancy.
F ig. 150 Safety belt positio n du ring p regnancy
Safety belts 143
To p rovide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 142.
.. Ad just the front sea t and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 58, Seats and storage.
.. 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. 150,
¢ .,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il you hear it latch secure ly
¢ page 141, fig. 148 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it i s se­
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause serious persona l 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
round ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢.&. in Fas­
tening safety belts on page 142 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 151 Re leas ing t he tong ue from the buck le
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢ fig. 151. The belt tongue w ill spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&_. ..,..

144 Safet y belt s
• Let the belt wind up on the ret ractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i­
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
-
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout­
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord­
ing to body size .
~ 0 0 6
Fig. 152 Safety belt heig ht adj ustme nt for th e fro nt
seats -loop -around fittings
.. (0
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body
c:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 143 .
• Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig. 152
@, or
• squeeze together the(!) button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
• Pull the belt to make sur e that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged.
.&, WARNING
Alw ays read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other impo rtant informat ion ¢
page 141.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust­
ment of the seat can also be used to a djus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se­
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can o nly
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
i ncrea se t he risk of inju ry and death by mov­
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f the
body. Improper seating positions also in­
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an a irbag dep loys and strikes an occu­
pant who is not in the correct seating posi ­
tion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil­
dren . Therefore:
• Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c:> ,&. .
.&, WARNING
Improperly worn safety be lts increase the
r isk of ser ious p ersona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always ma ke sur e that all vehicle occ u­
pants are co rrectly restra ined and stay in
a co rrec t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS a nd
o ther impo rtant inform ation
¢page 141.
Safety belt preten­
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned
automatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by sen­
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
grea t severity. This tightens the belt and takes
u p belt slac k
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of .,._

angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con­
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro­
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve­
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i­
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 138.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec­
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan­
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi­
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in ­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk o f injury when an air ­
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 141, Safety belts .
Airbag system 147
-Always make certain that chi ld ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red 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 129.
-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 prevent serio us in juries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to tra nsport objects. Items can a lso
move i nto the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air­
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
_&. WARNING ~
A irbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trai ned
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 .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read t he importa nt information
and head the WARNINGS fo r important de­
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 167. ..,.
•
•

148 Airbag sys tem
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equip ped with an
Advanced Airbag System , make certain that
a ll c hildren, especially those 12 years and
younge r, a lways 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 ch ild to r ide.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a fo rward-facing ch ild safety seat. It
can be a very dangerous place for a n infant or
a child in a rea rward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to comp ly with the Requ ire­
men ts of Uni ted Sta tes Federa l Mo tor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your veh icle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on t he
passenger side to be turned off ("sup­
pressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing o r for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed i n Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed o n the front
passenger seat . For a listing of the child re ­
strai nts t hat we re used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
r=vpage 169.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel te lls you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has been
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds a nd:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- wi ll stay on if there is a small child or child
restraint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is oc ­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
r=v page 156, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requ ires the
fro nt airbag to be turned off.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l 1 year -old
c hil d but less than the weight o f a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not come on). If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on , the
front a irbag on the passeng er side has not
been turned off by the elec troni c con trol unit
and can deploy if the control uni t se nses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memo ry .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typical 1
year-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whethe r the child is i n one of
t he child safety seats listed
r=v page 169), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instr ument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger s ide may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li gh t does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitt ing up rig ht w ith their back against a
non- recl ined ba ck res t w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle f loor i n front of the sea t is on the front
passenger seat
r=v page 129 , Proper seating
position for the driver.
If t he fron t passenger a irbag dep loys, the
F ede ra l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
t h e "low risk" dep loyment criteria to red uce
t h e risk of injury t hrough interactio n wit h the
airbag. "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
r=v page 157, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflat ing passenger 's airbag in a fronta l
collision . T he a irbag could great ly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restra int and even
seriously injure t he ch ild dur ing inflation .

For this reason, and because the back seat is
the safest place for children - when properly restrained according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 167, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T he inflating a irbag w ill hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier w ith great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, cente r
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear -facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you mus t inst all a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat beca use of exceptional circumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im­
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posit ion and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
authorized Aud i dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat may in­
terfe re with the deployment of the air­
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c irc umstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Alw ays make sure the forw ard -fac ing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re ­
straint up aga inst or very near the instru­
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
A irbag system 149
aft ad justment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint. 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 wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
T o reduce the risk of ser ious injury, make
su re that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light w ill be displayed whenever a child re­
straint is installed on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not s tay on, per form the checks de ­
scribed
Q page 156, Monitoring the Ad ­
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld restraint off the front pas­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN ­
GER AIR BAG Off light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .
-Always carefu lly follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacturers when in­
stall ing ch ild restra ints .
A WARNING
If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restra int on the front passenger's seat :
- Improper instal lation of ch ild restraints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
prevent them from providing any protec­
tion.
- An improper ly installed ch ild restra int
can interfere with the airbag as it de­
ploys and seriously i njure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufact ur­
er 's ins tructions p rov ided with the ch ild
safety seat or carrier . •
•

150 Airbag system
-Never place additiona l items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis­
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
F ig . 153 Location of driver airbag: in steer ing whee l
Fig. 15 4 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in ­
strument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
A irbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard ( FM VSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicl e was manufac tured. The system senses
the position of the front seats and controls
front airbag inflation with a valve, depending
on the distance between the respect ive seat
and the steering wheel or instrument panel.
The safety belts for the seats have "preten­
sioners" that he lp to take slack out of the belt
system . The pretensioners a re also activated
by the electron ic cont ro l unit for the ai rbag
system. T
he front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
i n a crash .
T he airbag for the drive r is in the stee ring
whee l hub¢
fig. 153 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
~ fig. 154 . The general locat ion of the a irbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T here is a lot you need to know about the ai r­
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely importa nt for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small chi ldren.
_&. WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotection.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only s upplement al pro te ctio n.
- Airbag work most effect ive ly when used
with p roperly wor n safety bel ts.
- Therefore, always wea r you r safety belts
a nd make sure tha t eve rybody in your ve­
h icle is p roperly res trained.
_&. WARNING
A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es­
pe cial ly infa nts and sm all ch ildren, w ill re­
ceive serio us inju ries and can even be kil­
l ed by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although t he Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passe nger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva­
b le sit uat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
i n acco rdance with the "low risk" option
unde r the U.S . Feder al Standard if a child
that is heav ie r than the typical one -year
-
.