60 Seats and stor age
Seats and storage
General recommen
dations
Why is your seat adjustment so
important?
The safety belts and the airbag system can
only provide maximum protection if the front
seats are correctly adjusted.
There are various ways of adjusting the front
seats to provide safe and comfortable support
for the driver and the front passenger. Adjust
you r seat prope rly so that :
- you can easily and quickly reach all the
switches and controls in the instrument
panel
-your body is properly supported thus reduc
ing physical stress and fatigue
- the safety be lts and airbag system can offer
maximum protection
¢ page 109.
In the following sections, you will see exactly
how you can best adjust your seats .
There are special regulations and instructions
for installing a child safety seat on the front
passenger's seat. Always heed the informa
tion regarding child safety provided in
¢ page 130, Child Safety.
A WARNING
Incorrect seating position of the driver and
all other passengers can result in serious
personal injury.
- Always keep your feet on the floor when
the vehicle is in motion -never put your
feet on top of the instrument panel, out
of the window or on top of the seat cush
ion! This applies especially to the passen
gers .
If your seating position is incorrect
you increase the risk of injury in the case
of sudden braking or an acc ident.
If the
airbag inflates and the seating position
is incorrect this could result in personal
injury or even death.
- It is important for both the driver and
front passenger to keep a distance of at least 10
inches (25 cm) between them
selves and the steering wheel and/or in
strument panel. If you're sitting any
closer than this, the airbag system can not protect you properly . In addition to
this, the front seats and head restraints
must be adjusted to your body height so
that they can give you maximum protec
tion.
- Always try to keep as much distance as
possible between yourself and the steer
ing wheel or instrument panel.
- Do not adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat whi le the vehicle is moving.
Your seat may move unexpectedly, caus
ing sudden loss of vehicle control and
personal injury. If you adjust your seat
while the vehicle is moving, you are out of position.
Driver's seat
The correct seat position is important for safe
and relaxed driving.
We recommend that you adjust the driver's
seat in the following manner :
.,. Adjust the seat in fore and aft direction so
that you can easily push the peda ls to the
floor whi le keeping your knee slightly bent
i::> A in Why is your seat adjustment so im
portant? on page 60 .
.,. Adjust the seatback so that when you sit
with your back against the seatback , you can
still grasp the top of the steering wheel.
.,. Position the head restraint according to the
occupant 's height
<=:> page 63 . For maxi
mum protection, the top of the head re
straint shou ld be at least at eye level, pref
erably higher and ideally level with the top
of the head
¢ page 95, fig. 102.
A WARNING "--
Never place any objects in the driver's foot-
well. An object could get into the pedal
area and interfere with pedal function. In
case of sudden braking or an accident, you
would not be able to brake or accelerate!
Front passenger's seat
Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position .
To avoid contact with the airbag while it is de
p loying, do not sit any closer to the instru
ment panel than necessary and always wear
the three-point safety belt provided adjusted
correctly . We recommend that you adjust the
passenger's seat in the following manner:
"' Bring the backrest up to an (almost) upright
pos it ion.
Do not ride with the seat reclined.
"'T he idea l position for the head restraint is
with the upper edge of the restraint level
with the top of your head
Q page 63. You
shou ld
not lower the top of the restraint be
low the level of your eyes.
"' Place your feet on the f loor in front of the
passenger's seat .
Adjusting front seats
manually
Adjustment controls
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjustment
Various controls on the manual seats provide
a wide range for individual adjustments.
Fig. 68 Ad just ment contro ls : locat ions o n drive r's seat
(!) Moving the seat forward or backward
@ Adjusting the lumbar support
® Adjusting the seat height
© Adjusting the seatback angle
{!) Tips
Some of the contro ls are fitted on certain
models only or they are optional equip
ment.
Seats and storage 61
Adjusting the manual seats
Applies to vehicles: with manual seat adjustment
Position, angle and shape of the manual
seats can be adjusted to provide safe and
comfortable seating .
Reed and heed all WARNINGS ¢..&. before
you adjust your seat.
Moving the front seats forward or
backward
"' Lift the lever (!)¢ page 61, fig. 68 and slide
the seat to the desired position .
"' Release the lever and then move the seat
further until you fee l and hear it engage .
Adjusting the seat height
"' Pull the lever ® up and pump it to raise the
seat.
"' Push the lever down and pump it to lower
the seat .
Adjusting the seatback angle
"' Lean forward to take your weight off the
seatback.
"' Turn the hand wheel © in the direction you
want the seatback to tilt .
A WARNING -
-Never adjust the driver's or front pas
senger's seat while the vehicle is moving.
If you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of position. A lways adjust
the driver's or front passenger's seat
when the vehicle is not moving.
- Be careful when adjusting the seat
height . Check to see that no one is in the
way, or ser ious injury cou ld result!
- To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never ride in a moving ve
hicle with the seatback reclined. Safety
be lts and the airbag system only offer
maximum protection when the seatback
is upr ight and the safety belts are prop
erly positioned on the body. The more
the seatback is reclined, the greater the
risk of persona l injury from an incorrect
62 Seats and storage
seating position and improperly posi
tioned safety be lts!
Power seats
Adjustment switches
App lies to vehicles: wit h power seats
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the construction and function of
the seat.
Fig. 69 Adjustment switches: locations on driver seat
The operating logic for the switches corre
sponds to the construction, the design and
the function of the seat. Push or pull either
switch in exactly the same direction you want
the corresponding part of the seat to move.
CD Adjusting the lumbar support
@ Adjusting seat height and fore-and-aft po
sition
@ Adjusting the angle of the seatback
Power seat adjustment
Applies to vehicles: with power seats
The switches can be moved in various direc
tions to allow precise adjustment.
Read and heed all warnings before you adjust
your seat. ¢&_ .
Adjusting the curvature of the lumbar
support
.,. Push the forward or rear depress ion on the
switch shell CD¢
page 62, fig. 69 to in
crease or decrease the backrest curvature.
Adjusting the height of the lumbar
support
.,. Push the top or bottom depression on the
switch shell CD to raise or lower the support
in the backrest.
Moving the front seats forward or
backward
.,. Press the switch @forward or backward
horizontally.
Adjusting the seat height
.,. Pull or push the switch @even ly at both
ends to raise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cushion up and down (front )
.,. Pull or push the switch @at the front only
to raise or lower the seat.
Angling the seat cushion up and down (rear)
.,. Pull or push the switch@at the rear only to
raise or lower the seat .
Adjusting the seatback
.,. Push or pull the switch @ in the same direc
tion you want the seatback to tilt.
,&. WARNING
-Never adjust the driver's or front passen
ger seat while the vehicle is moving.
If
you do this while the vehicle is moving,
you will be out of position. A lways ad just
the dr iver's or front passenger seat when
the vehicle is not moving.
- Be careful when adj usting the seat
height. Check to see that no one is in the
way, or serious injury could result!
- Because the seats can be e lectrically ad
justed with the ignition key removed,
never leave ch ildren unattended in the
vehicle. Unsupervised use of the electric
seat adjustments may cause serious in
Jury.
-To reduce the risk of injury in the case of
sudden braking or accident, front pas
sengers must never ride in a moving ve
hicle with the seatback reclined. Safety
belts and the airbag system offer maxi
mum protection only when the seatback
is upright and the safety be lts are prop
erly positioned on the body. The more
the seatback is reclined, the greater the
risk of personal injury from an incorrect
seating position and improperly posi
tioned safety be lts!
- Always make sure the front seatbacks are
in the upright position and securely
locked in place when dr iving.
Head restraints
Adjusting head restraints, front seats
The head restraints must be adjusted proper
ly to provide protection .
Fig. 70 Dr iver 's seat head restraint: ad just ing t he
height
The head restraints on the front seats can be
adjusted to provide safe support to head and neck at the opt imum he ight. When optimally
adjusted, the top of the restraint should be
level with the top of the head ¢
page 95,
Proper adjustment of head restraints.
... Grasp the sides of the head restraint with
both hands and slide it upward/downward
until you feel it click into place¢
fig. 70.
_& WARNING
- Driving without head restraints or with
head restraints that are not properly ad-
-
Seats and storage 63
justed increases the risk of serious or fa
tal neck injury dramat ica lly.
- Read and heed all WARNINGS
¢page 95.
(D Tips
Correctly adjusted head restraints and
safety be lts are an extreme ly effective
combination of safety features.
Luggage compartment
Pass-through with Ski Bag
Using the pass-through and the removable
ski bag, you can transport long objects (e .g.
skis) neatly and without damaging the interi
or.
Fig. 71 Open storage co mpartmen t between th e seat
backs
Fig. 72 Retainer fo r the ski bag between the seatbacks
Loading
... Open the flip cover to the storage compart
ment between the seatbacks ¢
page 67 .
... To unlock it, pull the handle and fold the
cover of the pass-through to the trunk
<=> fig. 71.
"'"Flip the cover upward in the direction of the
arrow.
"'" Open the trunk lid .
On the road
Steering
Adjusting the steering wheel column
The steering wheel position can be continu
ously adjusted in height and distance.
Fig. 81 Lever under the stee ring column
• Push the lever¢ fig. 81 -Arrow- ¢,&. .
• Move the steer ing wheel to the desired posi
tion.
• Push the lever against the steering column
until it locks.
There must be at least 10 inches (25 cm) be tween your chest and the center of the steer
ing wheel. If you cannot sit more than 10 in
ches (25 cm) from the steering wheel, see if
adaptive equipment is available to help you
reach the pedals and increase the distance
from the steering wheel.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 62.
A WARNING
Improper use of steering wheel adjust
ment and improper seating position can
cause serious personal injury.
- Adjust the steering wheel column only
when the vehicle is not moving to pre
vent loss of vehicle control.
- Adjust the driver's seat or steering wheel so that there is a minimum of 10 inches
(25 cm) between your chest and the
steering wheel
¢page 93, fig. 101. If
you cannot maintain this minimum dis
tance, the airbag system cannot protect
you properly.
On the road 73
-If physical limitations prevent you from
sitt ing 10 inches (25 cm) or more from
the steering wheel, check with your au
thorized Audi dealer to see if adaptive equipment is ava ilable .
- If the steering wheel is aligned with your
face, the supplemental dr iver 's airbag
cannot provide as much protection in an
accident. Always make sure that the
steering wheel is al igned with your
chest .
-Always hold the steer ing wheel w ith your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to reduce the risk of persona l injury
if the driver's airbag deploys .
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands inside
the steering wheel rim or on the steering
wheel hub. Holding the steering wheel
the wrong way can cause serious injuries
to the hands, arms and head if the driv
er's airbag deploys.
Ignition lock and ignition switch
Ignition lock
The ignition key starts or stops the engine.
Fig. 82 Ignit ion lock posit ions
Ignition off @
In position ~ fig. 82@ both the ignition and
engine are off, and the steering is locked .
To
lock the steering after you have removed
the ignition key , turn the steering wheel in ei
ther direction until you hear it lock into place .
You should always lock the steering whenever ..,.
92 Driving Safel y
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, a irbags, ch ild restra ints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe the info rmat ion
and warn ings in th is sect ion -fo r yo ur own
safety as well as for that of your passengers.
The information in this se ction app lies to all
model ve rsions of your veh icle . Some of the
feat ures desc ribed in this sec tions may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others . If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Aud i dealer.
A WARNING
- Make certain that you follow the instruc
t ions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the
interest of your passengers .
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
yo ur vehicle so that this important info r
mation will a lways be ava ilable to the
dr iver and passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find i t eas ily if you have
ques tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
redu ce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations.
Your safety and the safety of your passenge rs
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a varie ty o f fea tures
avai la bl e to he lp re duce the risk of injury in an accident
. The following is a lis ting o f just a
few of the safety features in your Audi:
- sophis tic ated s afety be lts fo r drive r and a ll
passenger sea ting pos it ions,
- safety belt pre-tensione rs,
- fro nt airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- ad justab le steering column .
T hese ind iv idual safety features can wor k to
ge ther as a sys tem to he lp p rotec t you and
you r passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot wo rk as a system if
they are not always p roper ly adjusted and
properly used!
Safet y is everyb ody's re spon sibilit y!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For yo ur safety and the safety of you r passen
gers,
befor e driving alwa ys:
"' Make s ure that all lights and signa ls are op
erati ng correctly .
"' Ma ke su re t hat the t ire p ressu re is co rrec t.
"' Mak e su re that all windows are clean and a f
ford good vis ibility to the outs ide.
"' Sec ure all luggage and other items caref ully
I:!) page 66.
"'Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
"' Adjust front seat, head res traint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
"' Inst ruct passe ngers to adjust the head re
st raints accord ing to the ir height .
"' Ma ke sur e to use the r igh t chi ld restraint
correc tly to protect c hild ren
¢ page 130,
Child Safety .
"'Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
I:!) page 60,
General recommendations. .,_
124 Airbag system
with the safety belt buckles so that the sen
sors can send the correct information about
safety belt use to the electron ic control unit.
,&. WARNING
Changing the vehicle 's suspension includ
ing use of unapproved tire-rim combina
tions can change Advanced Airbag per
formance and increase the risk of serious personal injury in a crash.
- Never install suspens ion components
that do not have the same performance
characteristics as the components origi
nally insta lled on your vehicle.
- Never use ti re-rim combinat ions that
have not been approved by Audi.
,&. WARNING
-
Items stored between the safety belt
buckle and the center console can cause
the sensors in the buckle to send the
wrong information to the electronic con
trol modu le and prevent the Advanced A ir
bag System from working properly.
- Always make sure that nothing can inter-
fere with the safety belt buckles and that
they are not obstructed.
Knee airbags
Description of knee airbags
The knee airbag system can provide supple
mental protection to properly restrained
front seat occupants.
Fig. 116 Driver's airbag
The driver knee airbag is in the instrument
panel underneath the steering wheel
~ fig. 116, the airbag for the passenger is at
about the same height in the instrument pan
el underneath the glove compartment .
T he knee airbag offe rs addi tional p rotec tion
to the driver 's and passenger's knees and up
per and lower thigh areas and supplements
the protection by the safety belts.
If t he front a irbags dep loy, the k nee a irbags
also dep loy in frontal collisions when the de
ployment threshold stored in the control unit
is met
~ page 118, More important things to
know about front airbags .
In addition to their normal sa fety function,
safety belts help keep the driver or front pas
senger in position in a fronta l collision so that
the a irbags can provide supplemental protec
t ion.
The airbag system is not a substitute for your
safety belt. Rather, it is part of the overa ll oc
cupant restraint system in your vehicle. A l
ways remember that the airbag system can
only he lp to protect you if you are wearing
you r safety belt and wea ring it properly. This
is why you should a lways wear your safety
belt, not just because the law requi res you to
do so~
page 101, General notes.
The safety belt buckle for the driver and front
seat passenger have switches that tell the air
bag control module if the safety bel t is being
u sed or not .
If the safety belt is be ing used,
t h e knee a irbag w ill deploy at a s light ly h igher
rate of dece leration than if the belt is not be
ing used. Therefore, in a particular co llision, it
is possib le that an airbag will not dep loy at a
seating position where the safety belt is being
used but will inflate at the position where the
safety belt is not being used .
Remember too, airbags will deploy on ly once
and only in certa in kinds of accidents - your
safety belts are always there to offer protec
t ion in those accidents in which airbags are
not supposed to deploy o r whe n they have al
ready dep loyed, for example when your vehi
cl e s trikes or is st ru ck by ano ther after the
first collision . ..,.
192 Tires and whe els
& WARNING
Sudden tire failure can lead to loss of con
trol, a crash and serious persona l injury!
- Never drive a vehicle when the tread on
any tire is worn down to the wear indica
tors .
- Worn tires are a safety hazard, they do
not grip well on wet roads and increase
yo ur risk of "hydroplan ing" and loss of
control.
- Always keep chemicals that can cause tire damage, such as grease, oil, gasoline and brake fluid away from t ires.
- Tires age even if they are not be ing used
and can fail suddenly , especially at high
speeds . T ir es that are more t han 6 years
o ld can only be used in an emergency
and then with special care and at lower
speeds.
- Never mount used ti res on yo ur vehicle if
yo u are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
New tires and replacing tires and wheels
New tires and wheels have to be broken in .
Fig. 142 Tir e specificat ion codes on t he s idew all o f a
t ire
No. De scription
® Ratio of height to width (aspect ratio)
© Rad ial
® Rim diamete r code
® Load index and speed rating
(J) U.S . DOT tire ident ification number
® Aud i Origina l t ire
® Seve r snow cond it ions
@ T ire ply composi tion and mater ials used
@ Max imum load ra ting
@ Treadwear, traction and tempe rature
grades
@ Maximum permiss ible inflation pres -
sure
The tires and rim s are essential parts of the
vehicle's design . The t ires and rims app roved
by Audi a re spec ially matched to the charac
teristics of the vehicle and can make a major contribu tion to good road holding and safe .,..