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 . •
•
116 Airbag sys te m
components is detected . The function of the
airbag indicator light is described in greater
deta il below . Because the front passenger
seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you must take care to
prevent it from be ing damaged . Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenge r seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag System
consists of the following:
- Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure ve hicle acceleration/decele ra tion
to provide info rmation to the Advanced Air
bag System abo ut the severi ty of the crash.
- An electron ic co ntro l unit, with integra ted
crash sensors for front and side impacts .
T he cont ro l unit "decides " whethe r to fire
the front airbags based on the information received from the crash sensors . The contro l
unit a lso "decides" whether the safety belt
pre tensioners should be activated.
- An Advanced Ai rbag with gas generator for
the driver ins ide the steer ing whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator in
s ide the inst rument panel for the front pas
senger.
- A weight -sens ing mat under the upholstery
padd ing of the front passenger seat cush ion
that measures the total we ight on the seat.
The information reg istered is sent continu
ous ly to the electron ic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger s ide.
- An airbag monito ring system and indicator
li ght in the instrument cluster
9 page 119.
- T he PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the cente r of the instru
ment pane l
9 page 120, fig. 115 and tells
yo u when the front Advanced A irbag on the
passenge r side has been turned off.
- A senso r be low the safety bel t latch fo r the
fron t se at passenge r to me asu re the tension
on the safety belt . The tension on the safety
belt and the weight registe red by the
weight -sensing mat help the control unit
"decide" whether the front a irbag for the front passenge
r seat should be turned off or
not
¢ page 110, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch fo r the driv
er and for the front seat passenger that
senses whether that safety belt is latched or not and transmits this informa tion to the
electronic control un it .
.&_ WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can
p revent the fro nt airbag from wor king
pr operly.
- I mp roper repai r or disassembly of the
front passenge r and dr ive r sea t will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioni ng p roperly.
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat mus t
be pe rformed by qu alifie d and p roperly
trained workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front p assenger o r
d river seat from the vehicle .
-Never remove th e upholstery from the
front passenger seat.
- Neve r d isassemble o r remove parts from
the sea t or discon nect wires from it.
- Never carry sha rp objects in yo ur poc kets
or p lace t hem on the seat. If the weight
sensing ma t in the passenger seat is
punctured it cannot work p roperly.
- Neve r carry things on y our la p or ca rry
objects on the passenger seat. S uc h
items can increase the weight registere d
by the weight -sensing mat and send the
wrong information to the airbag control
un it.
- Never store items under the front pas
senger seat. Parts o f the Advanced Air
bag System under the passenger seat
could be damaged, preventing them and
the airbag system from working proper ly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement
up ho lstery that have not been specifica l
ly approved by Audi on the front seats .
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced
-
Ai rbag System from recognizing chi ld .,..
described in the child restraint manufactur
er 's instructions;
- make sure that the convertible locking fea
ture on the safety be lt for the front passen
ger seat has been activated and that the
safety belt has been pulled tight. The belt
must not be loose or have loops of slack so
that the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the seat can do its job<=>
page 138 .
-make sure that th ings that may increase the
weight of the child and child safety seat are
not being transported on the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that the safety belt tension sen
sor is not blocked . Shake the safety belt
latch on the front passenger seat back and
forth;
- If a strap or tether is being used to tie the
ch ild safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure t hat it is not so tight that it
ca uses the we ight-sensing mat to meas ure
more weight than is actua lly on the seat .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still
d oes no t com e on and does not stay on con
tinuously (when the igni tion is sw itched on),
- take the ch ild restraint off the front passen·
ger seat and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your Aud i dealer immediately .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should
NO T come on when the ign ition is on and a n
adu lt is sitt ing in a p roper seat ing pos ition on
the front passenger seat.
If the PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li gh t comes on and stays on or
flashes for about 5 seconds while driving, un
de r these circ umstances, make s ure that:
- the ad ult o n the front passenger seat is
properly seated on the center of the seat
cus hion with his or her back up against the
backrest and the backrest is not reclined
<=> page 93, Proper occupant seating posi
tions,
- the ad ult is not taking weight off the seat by
ho lding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door,
A irbag system 12 1
- the safety belt is being properly wo rn and
that there is not a lot of s lack in the safety
be lt webb ing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading
or impression on the weight-sensing mat
under the upho lstery of the seat have been
removed from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the safety belt latch for the front passenger
seat .
In addition to the
PASSEN GER A IR BAG O FF
light in the center of the instrument panel,
the message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG ON will briefly appear
i n the instrument cluster d isplay. This is to in
fo rm the dr iver of the current front passenger
airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
-
An airbag system that is not functioning
p roperly cannot provide supplemental pro
tection in a frontal c rash.
- If the airbag ind icator light comes on, it
means that there may be something
wrong with the Advanced Airbag Sys tem.
It is poss ible that the ai rbag w ill inflate
when it is not supposed to, or will not in
f late when it sho uld .
- Have the airbag system inspe cted imme
diate ly by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child withou t
a child restraint, in a rea rward-facing child
safety seat or in a forwa rd-facing child re
straint that has not been properly installed
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed.
- Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped
with an Advanced A irbag System, make
certain that all children, espec ially 12
yea rs and younger, always ride properly
restrained fo r their age and size. •
•
126 Airbag system
Important safety instructions on the
knee airbag system
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. Al
ways wear safety bel ts correctly and ride in a
proper seating position.
There is a lot that you and your passenger
must know and do to help the safety belts and
a irbags to provide supp lemental protection.
.&_ WARNING
An inflating knee airbag can cause serious
injury. Wearing safety belts inco rrectly and
improper seating positions increase the
r isk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
-
- The knee airbag system cannot protect
you properly if you are seated too close
to any of the airbag locations. When ad
just ing their seat positions, it is impor
tant that both the driver and the front
passenger keep their upper bodies and
knees at the fo llowing min imum safe
distances:
- at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
chest and t he steering wheel/ instru
ment panel.
- at least 4 inches (10 cm) between the
knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- The risk of persona l injury increases if
you lean forward or to the side, or if the
seat is imp roperly posit ioned and you are
not wearing your safety belt. The r isk in
creases even more should the airbag de
ploy.
- Always make sure that the knee a irbag
c an in flate without interference. Obje cts
between you and the airb ag can increase
the risk of inju ry in an acc iden t by inter
f ering with the way the airbag dep loys or
by being pushed into you as t he a irbag
dep loys .
- Never let anybody, especially ch ild ren
or an imals ride in the footwe ll in front
of the passenger seat.
If the airbag de- ploys, this can result in serious or fatal
injur
ies.
- Never ca rry objects of any kind in the
footwell area in front of the dr iver's or
passenger 's seat. Bulky objects (shop
ping bags, for example) can interfere
with or prevent proper deployment of
the a irbag. Small objects can be
th rown thro ugh the ve hicle if th e air
bag deploys and injure yo u or your pas
sengers.
- Make sure there are no cracks, deep
scr atc hes or o ther dam age in the area of
the ins trumen t panel where the knee a ir
bags are lo cated .
- If chi ld ren are incorrectly se ated, their
ris k of injury increases in a co llision
~page 130, Child Safety.
Side airbags
Description of side airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig . 11 8 Side airb ag locat ion in th e drive r's seat
The side airbags are loca ted in the sides of t he
fron t seat b ackrests
q fig. 118 fa cing the
doo rs . They are identif ied by the word "A IR
BAG".
Th e side airbag sy stem ba sic ally consi st s of:
- the electron ic contro l module and external
side impact sensors
- the two side airbags located in the sides of
the front backrests
- the airbag warning light in the instrument
cluster .
142 Intelligent technology
Intelligent technology
Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers fo r the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event . EDR's are sometimes ca lled "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
A lthough your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, eng ine function, em is
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic contro l modules also record
vehicle-re lated data during normal vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited pe riod of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only
be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidd ing and loss of vehicle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects certain difficult driving situat
ions, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering assistance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
G) in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations.
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics. It wi ll not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of
dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it wou ld on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered.
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficult driving situations as at lower
speeds.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to
road , traffic §&and weather conditions. ESC
cannot override the vehicle's physical limits,
increase the available traction, or keep a vehi
cle on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention . Instead, ESC improves the
poss ibility of keeping the vehicle under con
t rol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle go ing in the intended di
rection . If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
ESC includes and/or works togethe r with the
anti- lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys-
tem and anti-slip regu lation (ASR). ESC is .,..
148 Intelligent technology
Battery diagnosi s
Battery diagnosis continuously determines
the state of the battery. Sensors determine
battery voltage, battery current and battery
temperature. This determines the current
state of charge and the power of the battery.
Idling current management
I dling current management reduces energy
consumption while the vehicle is standing.
With the ignition switched off, it controls the
energy supply to the various electrical compo
nents. Data from battery diagnosis is consid
ered.
Depending on the battery's state of charge,
individual consumers are gradually turned off
to prevent excessive discharge of the battery
and thus maintain starting capability.
Dynamic energy management
While the vehicle is being driven, dynamic en
ergy management distributes the energy gen
erated according to the needs of the individu
al components. It regulates consumption, so
that more electrical energy is not being used
than is being generated and ensures an opti
mal state of charge for the battery .
(D Tips
-But even energy management cannot
negate the limits of physics. Consider
that the power and life of a battery are
limited .
- If starting ability is threatened, you are informed by a warning
~page 149,
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining
starting capability .
The battery is severely taxed in short -distance
driving, in city traffic and during the cold time
of year. Abundant electrical energy is re
quired, but only a little is generated.
It is also
critical if the engine is not running and electri- cal components are turned on.
In this in
stance energy is being consumed but none is
being generated.
It is in precisely these situations that you will
notice energy management actively regulat
ing the distribution of energy.
Vehicle stands for an extended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period
of several days or weeks , electrical compo
nents are gradually cut back or switched off .
This reduces energy consumption and main
tains starting capability over a longer period.
Take into consideration that when you unlock
your vehicle, some convenience functions ,
such as the remote key or power seat adjust
ment, may not be available. The convenience
functions will be available again when you
turn on the ignition and start the engine.
With the engine turned off
If you listen to the radio, for example, with
the engine turned off, the battery is being dis
charged.
If starting capability is jeopardized due to en
ergy consumption, a message appears in the
driver information display.
You have to start the engine to charge the
battery.
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is being driven, the battery can be
come discharged. This happens mostly when
little energy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state of
charge is not optimal.
To bring the energy balance back into equili
brium, consumers which require especially
large amounts of energy are temporarily cut
back or switched off . Heating systems in par
ticular require a great deal of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been temporarily cut back or switched .,.
off. These systems will be avai lable again as
soon as the energy ba lance has bee n restored.
You will also notice that engine idle speed has
been increased s lightly. This is normal and not
a cause for concern. By increasing engine idle
speed the additiona l energy required is gener
ated and the battery is charged .
Driver notification in the instrument
cluster display
If battery power drops into the range where it
can lim it the ab ility of the engine to start, th is
i s shown in the inst rument cluster display
with the following driver message:
(•) Low battery charge : battery will be
charged while driving
This notification reminds you that the starting
capability of the engine may be l imited. As
soon as you start driving aga in, the battery
w ill be recharged and the notification will go
out.
Driver notification appears and goes out
again
If th is driver notification appears after the ig
nition is turned on or while driving and it goes
out again after a wh ile, the battery has been
adequately recharged.
Driver notification appears and does not
go out again
If this driver notification appears after the ig
n ition is turned on or while driving and does
not go out again, the battery's state of charge
is not in the optimal range. Starting ability is
restr icted. Have the battery checked as soon
as possible by an author ized Audi dealer or
qualified workshop.
Intelligent technology 149
•
•
Detergent additives in the oil will make fresh
oil look dark after the engine has been run
n ing for a short time . This is norma l and is not
a reason to change the o il more often than
recommended.
D amage o r m alfu nctions due to lac k of
m ainten ance
It is essen tial that yo u change your oil at the
recommended inte rva ls using only engine oil
that complies with A udi oil standard
VW 502 00 . Your Lim ited New Vehicle War
ranty does not cover damage or malfunctions
due to failure to follow recommended mainte nance and use requ ireme nts as set forth in
the Audi Owner 's Manual and Warranty
&
Maintenance book let . Your dea ler will have to
deny warranty coverage u nless you p resent to
the dea ler proof in the form of Serv ice or Re
pa ir Orde rs that all scheduled maintenance
was performed in a timely manner.
Engine oil consumption
The engine in your vehicle depends on an ade
quate amount of oil to lubricate and cool all
of its moving ports.
I n o rder to prov ide effective l ubr ication and
cooling of internal engine components, a ll in
ternal comb ustion engines consume a certain
amo unt of oi l. Oi l cons umption varies from
engine to engine and may change significantly
over the life of the eng ine . Typ ically, eng ines
with a specified break-in per iod (see
¢ page 150) consume more o il during the
break-in per iod than they consume after oil
consumption has stab ilized .
Under normal conditions, the rate of oil con
sumpt io n depends on the quality and viscosity
of the oil, the RPM (revolutions per m inute) at
which the engine is ope rated, the ambient
temperature and road condi tions. Furt her fac
tors are the amo unt of oil d ilution from wate r
condensation or fuel residue and the oxida
tion level of the oi l. As any engine is subject to
wear as mileage bui lds up, the oil consump
tion may increase over time until rep lacement
of worn components may become necessary.
Checkin g and fillin g 169
With a ll these variab les coming into p lay, no
standard rate of oil consumption can be es
tab lished or spec ified . There is no alte rnative
to regular and frequent check ing of the o il lev
el, see
Note .
If the yellow engine oil leve l warning symbo l
in the instrument cluster
Ill li ghts up, you
sho uld check the oil leve l as soon as possib le
with the oil dipstick¢ page 170. Top off the
o il at your earliest convenience ¢
page 170 .
A WARNING
Before you check anything i n the engine
compartment, always read and heed a ll
WAR NINGS ¢
& in Working in the engine
compor tment on page 165.
(D Note
D riving w it h an insufficient o il level is like
l y to cause severe damage to the engine.
© Tips
- The oil pr essur e warn ing display. is
not an indicator of th e oil level. Do not
rely on it . Instead, che ck the oil level in
your engine at regu lar int ervals, pr ef
erably e ach time you r efuel, and always
before going on a long trip .
-If you have the impression yo ur engi ne
cons umes excess ive amoun ts of oil, we
recommend that you consu lt your Aud i
dea ler to have the cause of your concern
properly d iagnosed. Keep in mind that
the accurate meas urement of o il con
sumption requires great care and may
take some t ime . Your Audi dea ler has in
st ruct ions about how to measure oil con
sumption acc urately.
-
•
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