94 Driving Safely
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
times.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c::> page 61.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it deploys. To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in
flates
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision.
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats and head restraints properly and
make sure that all passengers are prop
erly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect- edly and you could lose control of the ve
hicle.
- 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 seats
c::> page 130. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat¢
page 109.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position :
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes in full contact with it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• Adjust the head restraint so that the upper
edge is as even with the top of your head as
possible but not lower than eye level and so
that it is as close to the back of your head as
possible
c::> page 95.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c::> page 104.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
c::> page 60 .
A WARNING
-
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
-Passengers must always sit in an upright
posit ion and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the ai rbags are located .
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po
sit ion or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenge r's bre astbone and the inst ru
me nt pane l.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas
senger's knees and the lower part of the
ins trumen t panel.
- Each passenger m ust always s it on a seat
of the ir own and properly fasten and
wea r the safety belt be long ing to that
seat .
- Be fore driv ing, a lways adj ust the front
passenger seat and head restraint prop
erly .
- Always keep your feet on the f loor 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 w ill not be ab le to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash .
- Never drive with the backrest recl ined or
t ilted far back! The farther the back rests
are t ilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
t io n.
- Children must always ride in child sea ts
r=;, p age 130. Specia l precautions a pply
when insta lling a child seat on the front
passenger seat .::>
page 109.
Driving Safel y 95
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. 1 02 Head restra int: v iewed from the front
The head restraints must be correctly adjust
ed to achieve the best protection .
.- For ad justab le head restra ints: adjus t the
head restra int so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head . If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
c::;, fig. 102 .
Adjusting head restraints r=;, page 63 .
A WARNING
-
All seats are equipped with head re-
straints. Driving w ithout head restraints or
with head restraints that are not properly
adjusted increases the r isk of serious or fa
tal neck inju riy dramatica lly. To help re
duce the risk of injury :
-Always drive with the head restraints in place and properly ad justed.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
prope rly adjusted head restraint .
- Always make sure each person in the ve
hicle properly adjusts their head re
straint . Each head restra int must be ad
justed according to occupants' size so
that the upper edge is as even with the
top of the person's head, but no lower
than eye level and so i t is as close to the
back of to the head as possible.
96 Driving Safely
-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 straint.
- Children must always be properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their age and size
Q page 130.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only re
duce the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are
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 safety belts and will even in
crease the risk of injury and death by moving
the safety belt to critical areas of the body.
Improper seating positions also increase the
risk of serious injury and death when an air
bag deploys and strikes an occupant who is
not in the proper seat ing position. A driver is
responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
.. Never allow anyone to ass ume an incorrect
seat ing position when the vehicle is being
used
Q A .
The following bullets list only some sample
positions that will increase the risk of serious
injury and death. Our hope is that these exam
ples will make you more aware of seating po
sitions that are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is
moving :
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways -
never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING ..___
Improper seating positions increase the
risk of serious personal 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
vehicle is being used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
-
~ -
Always make sure that the knee airbag can
inflate without interference. Objects be
tween yourself and the airbag can increase
the risk of injury in an accident by interfer
ing with the way the airbag deploys or by
being pushed into you as the airbag de
ploys.
- No persons (children) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this
can result in ser ious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried
in the footwell area in front of the driv
er's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham
per or prevent proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
through the vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you or your passengers.
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten
ers .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver's
footwell. An object could get into the
peda l area and interfere w ith pedal func
tion. In case of sudden braking or an ac
cident, you would not be able to brake or
accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall
or move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor mat fasteners and do
not interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Make su re that the floor mats are properly
secu red and cannot move and interfere with
the pedals ~
A,.
Use o nly floor mats that leave the pedal a rea
unobstructed and that are firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of position. Yo u can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi .
Driving S afel y 97
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be at
tached to these fasteners . Properly securing
the f loor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of your vehicle
in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of vehicle control and increase the
risk of serious persona l injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot
be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing with
the peda ls or the ability to contro l the
vehicle .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings on top o f already instal
led floor mats . Additiona l floor mats and
other coverings will reduce the size of
the peda l area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the dr iver footwell while the ve
hicle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop erly stowed and secured in the luggage com
partment.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics. Loose items can a lso increase
the risk of serious persona l injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision. •
•
98 Driving Safely
• Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
• Always place and properly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury:
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing
!:? page 92 .
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 convertible top,
- 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 convertible top 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.
@ Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel , on the
left side of the luggage compartment.
Be sure to keep these slots free and
open.
- 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 ..,
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci
de nts . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
imp aired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi TT Roadster has two seating posi
tions. Each seat ing pos ition has a safety be lt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
im proper ly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death.
- Never st rap more than one person, in
clu ding small ch ild ren, into any belt. It is
especially dangerous to place a safety
belt over a child s itting on yo ur lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the ve hicle
t h an t he re a re safety be lts ava ilable.
Sa fety belts 1 O 1
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe
ty belt or child restra int.
4 Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and front seat passenger to remind you
about the importance of buckling-up.
Fi g. 1 03 Safety be lt warn ing lig ht in the instr ume nt
cl uster -enla rged
Befor e driv ing off, always :
~ Fasten your sa fe ty belt and make su re you
wear it p roperly.
~ Make s ure that yo ur passenge rs a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect childre n with a child rest raint sys-
tem appropriate for the s ize and age .
The wa rning light . in the instrument cluster
li ghts up w hen the ig nit ion is switched on as a
reminder to fasten the safety belts. In addi
tion , you will hear a warning tone for a certa in
per iod of t ime .
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their saf ety belts .
A WARNING
-Safety belts are the s ingle most effect ive
means ava ilable to reduce t he risk of se
rio us inju ry and death in au tomobile a cci
de nts. Fo r yo ur pro tection and tha t of
your passen gers, a lways correctly wear
safety belts when t he ve hicl e is moving .
- Fail ure to p ay att ention t o the wa rni ng
light that come on, could lead to person
a l injury . •
•
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 .
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 . 107 Driver is properly restrained in a sudden b rak
i ng maneuve r.
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement 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 tr ip or
just going to the corner store, always buckle
Safety belts 103
up and make sure others do, too. Accident sta
tistics show that vehicle occupants properly
wearing safety belts have a lower risk of be ing
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 the ir job in a collision . For
th is reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired in mos t countries including much of
the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with a irbags,
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 coll isions,
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!
Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be properly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body .
"' Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in th is 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 properly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must always be positioned correctly on
the body .
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt p re
tensione r that helps to t igh ten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensione r is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is monitored by a warning light
q page 15.
Switchable lo cking feature
Every safe ty belt excep t the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a switchab le locking fea
ture that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat . Be s ure to read the
important informat ion about th is feature
q page 138.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 105, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat . Attach ing the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effect iveness and ca n cause serious per
sonal in jury.
- A passenger who is no t properly rest rain
ed can be serio usly inju red by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron-
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen .
- Always lock the convert ible locking re
tractor when yo u are secur ing a chi ld
seat in the vehicle
¢ page 140.
Safety belts 105
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig . 1 09 Safety belt po sit ion
;;;
9 r ., a,
Standard fea tures on your veh icle he lp you ad
just the position o f the safety bel t to matc h
your body size .
- he ight-adjustable fron t seats.
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned s afety be lts c an
cause serious persona l injury in an acci
dent .
-
-The s hou lder belt should lie as close to
the center o f the collar bone as possible
a nd should fit well on the body. Hold the
be lt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possib le on the pelv is and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 109 . Pull
on the belt to t ighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be posit ioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
q fig. 109. Pu ll on the be lt to tight
e n if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its pos it ion on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause ser ious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 103.