
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.

106 Safet y belt s
Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
Fig . 1 10 S afety be lt pos it io n dur ing p regnancy
To provide maximum prote ction , safety belts
must always be po sitioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 105 .
• Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rect ly
c> page 60, General recommenda
tions.
• Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in up right posit io n and securely
latched in p lace before using the b elt .
• Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even
l y across the ches t and pelvis
c> fig. 110,
c>,& .
• Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckle of
yo ur seat until you hear it latc h securely
c> page 104 , fig . 108.
•Pullon the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in t he buckle .
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious personal injury in an acci
de nt.
-
- E xpec tant mothers mus t always wear the
lap po rtion of the safety b elt as low as
poss ible ac ross the pe lv is and be low the
ro unding of the a bdome n.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
ot her impo rtan t info rma tion
c> .&. in Fas
tening safety belts on page 105.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
,,
}_
Fig . 11 1 Rele asing the ton gu e from the buc kle
• Push the red release b utton on the buckle
c> fig . 111. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of t he b uckle
c> ,& .
N 0 ;c
a1i
• Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
-
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehi-
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase yo ur
r isk of being i njured o r kill ed .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improper ly can ca use se
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can o nly
work when they are correc tly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing positions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
increase the risk of inju ry and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to crit ical areas o f the
body . Imp roper seati ng po siti ons also in
c rease the risk of serious injury and death
whe n an a irbag dep loys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the co rrect seating posi
t ion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil
dren . There fore:
• Never pe rm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing position in the vehicle while trave ling
c> ,& . ~

& WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a correct seating position whenever the
vehicle is being used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
Q page 103.
Safety belt preten
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front and side collisions above a particular
severity, safety belts in use are tensioned au
tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sen
sors in front and side collisions of great se
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack
Q &. in Service and disposal of safety
belt preten sioner on page 107.
Taking up the
slack helps to reduce forward occupant move
ment during a collision .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be
activated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact
force, the safety belt pretensioner are not activated.
- When the safety belt pretensioner is ac
tivated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused by a fire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo
nents of the system are scrapped. A
qualified dealership is familiar with
these regulations and will be pleased to
pass on the information to you.
Safety belts 107
-Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or individual parts of the system, par
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have
your authorized Audi dealer perform this service for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension
ers can damage the safety belt system and
prevent it from working cor rectly in a colli
sion.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and tha t dis
carded components do no t cause injury or pol
lute the environment.
& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once. If belt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your authorized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re pair manual, training and special equip
ment necessary . •
•

108 Safety belts
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material -specia l hand ling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per
chlorate . When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts w ith pretens ioners are scrap
ped, all appli cable laws and regulat ions
m ust be observed . Yo ur autho riz e d Au di
dea ler is familiar with these requ irements
an d we recommend that you have your
dea le r perform this serv ice for you .

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.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly¢
page 93,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 61,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 103,
""Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children
r::::> page 130.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the driver or the front seat passenger are not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
airbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenger to s it properly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supplemental protec
tion in certain frontal collisions
r::::> page 93,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 61 and ¢ page 62.
It's especially important that children a re
properly restrained
r::::> page 130.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
ger can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your Aud i work to
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If you have a physical impairment or con-
Airbag system 109
dition that prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the pedals, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation of the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your authorized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Re
lations at 1-800-822-2834 for poss ible modi
fications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will fill the a irbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the driver and between the instru
ment panel and the front passenger. The air
bags will deflate immediately after deploy
ment so that the front occupants can see
through the windshield again without inter
ruption.
A ll of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
should be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in combination with properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
cupant's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and passenger from
hitt ing parts of the inside the vehicle while re
ducing the forces acting on the occupant dur
ing the crash . In this way they help to reduce
the risk of injury to the head and upper body
in the crash. Airbags do not protect the arms
or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece leration rate
caused by the co llision and registered by the
electronic control unit. If th is rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered,
even though the car may be badly damaged as
a result of the collision . Vehicle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is not necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag shou ld inf late or not .
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that will cover every possible kind and ..,. •
•

110 Airbag system
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 roll-overs.
Always remember: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certain kinds of collisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro
tection in those situations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy, or when they have
already deployed; for example, when your ve hicle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi
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 101.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the steering wheel or instrument pan el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, investi
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to held you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- You will also receive serious injuries and
could 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 risk of injury when an air
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 104, Safety belts.
- If children are not properly restrained,
they may be severely injured or killed
when an airbag inflates.
- Never let children ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the front seats properly.
- Always sit as far as possible from the steering wheel or the instrument panel
¢ page 93, Proper occupant seating po
sitions.
- Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never place your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both
feet on the floor in front of the seat to help prevent serious injuries to the legs
and hips if the airbag inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use only original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools
and diagnostic equipment to properly re
place any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air bags to be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be sure to read the important information
and head the WARNINGS for important de
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 130.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child safe
ty seat.
It can be a very dangerous place for an
infant or a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
has been certified to comply with the Require
ments of United States Federal Motor Vehicle .,.

Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants .
Fig. 112 Location of dri ver airbag: in steering whee l
Fig. 113 Location of front passe nger's ai rb ag : in the in
strument panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured . The safety belts
for the front seats have "pretensioners" that
help to take slack out of the belt system. The
pretensioners are also activated by the elec
tronic control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash .
The airbag for the driver is in the steering
wheel hub¢
fig. 112 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢fig. 113. The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle. We urge you to read the
Airbag system 113
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature .
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
A WARNING ,.;;
Never rely on airbags alone for protection .
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplementa l protection.
- Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
hicle is properly restrained.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special
conditions is impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle .
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other condit ions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- For its own safety, a child should always
ride properly restrained for its age and
size.
Advanced front airbag system
-
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United
Ill>

114 Airbag sys te m
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was manufactured .
The front Advanced Airbag Sys tem supp le
ments the safety belts to provide additional
protection for the driver's and front passeng
er 's heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in fronta l impacts
when the vehicle dece lerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the over all occupant restraint system in your veh icle.
A lways remember that the airbag system ca n
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up
right, wearing yo ur safety belt and wea ring it
p roperly. This is why you and you r passenge rs
must always be properly restr ained , not just
beca use the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been cer tified to meet the " low r is k " re
qu iremen ts for
3 an d 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger side and very small adu lts on
the driver side. The low risk deploymen t crite
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of in
jury through interaction with the front airbag that can occur, for example, by be ing too
close to the steer ing whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag i nflates .
In addition, the system has been certif ied to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requ irements
of the Safety Standard, to tur n off the front
a irbag for infants
12 months old and younger
who a re restra ined on the front passenger
seat in c hild restra ints that a re listed in the
St anda rd ¢
page 132, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Suppression" requires the front airbag on the passenger side to be turned off if :
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is re
stra ined on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-facing or forwa rd-fac ing infa nt
rest raints listed in Federa l Motor Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 wit h whi ch the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle w as
certified . For a list ing of the child rest rain ts t
ha t were used to certify your vehicle 's com
pliance with the US Safety Standa rd
¢ page 132,
-weight less than a thres ho ld level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas
senger seat.
When a person is dete cted on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than the tota l
weight of a chi ld that is about
1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear-facing or forward
facing infant restraints ( listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w it h which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was ce rtified), the front airbag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy.
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the electro nic con trol unit detects a to
ta l we ight on the front passenger seat that re
quires t he front airbag to be tu rned off. If t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t does no t
come o n, the fron t airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turne d off by the cont ro l
u nit and can dep loy if the control unit senses
an impact that meets the conditions stored in
its memory.
If the total weight on the front passenge r
seat is more than that of a typica l
1 year-old,
but less than the we ight of a small ad ult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on).
For example , the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier t han a typic al 1
yea r-old ch ild is on the front passenger seat
(regard less of whethe r the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
¢ page 132),
-a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is
on the front passenge r seat .
If the fron t passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t in the cen ter
of the ins trument panel will come on and stay
o n.
T he front airbag on the passenge r sid e may
not dep loy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not illuminate a nd stay lit) i f: