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Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly , changing vehicle handling charac
ter istics . Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden veh icle ma
neuver or in a collis ion.
~ Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com
partment.
~ Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as low and as far for
ward as poss ible
c:> fig . 131 .
~ Secure luggage us ing the tie-downs provided
<=:> page 66 .
~ Make sure that the rea r seatback is secu rely
latched in p lace.
A WARNING ,~ -
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per
sonal injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Always put objects, for examp le, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart
ment.
-Always secure objects in the luggage com
partment us ing the tie-down eye lets and
suitable straps .
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles. To he lp reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to ser ious persona l inju ry:
- Always keep in m ind when transporting
heavy objects, t hat a change in the ce nter of
gravity ca n also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as even ly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Ax le Weight Rating
o r the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and hand le different ly .
Dr ivin g s afet y
-Please observe information on safe driving
c:> page 113.
A WARNING
-To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed wh ile driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must dr ive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power top,
- Open all a ir outlets in the instrument pan-
el ,
- Switch off the air rec irculat ion,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING ~
Always make sure that the doo rs, all windows,
the power top and the rear lid are securely
closed and locked to reduce the risk of injury
when the vehicle is not being used.
- Afte r closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe cially with the rea r lid left open. A child
could cr awl into the ve hicle through the lug
g age compartmen t and close the re ar lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be
ing trapped in a veh icle can lead to serious
pe rsonal injury .
- Never let c hildren play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compa rtment . Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
h icle's seating posit ions.
(D Tips
- Air circu lation helps to reduce win dow fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outs ide
through vents i n the t rim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open .
119
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Driving safet y
- The tire pressure must cor respond to the
l oad . The tire press ure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure labe l is lo
cated on the driver's s ide B-pillar. The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its max imum capacity weight and the t ires that
were on you r vehicle at the time it was man
ufa ctu red. For re comme nded ti re p ress ures
fo r normal load cond itions, please see chap
ter
<=> page 219 .
Tie-downs
Applies to vehicles: with tie-downs
The Luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure Luggage and other i tems.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
<=> page 118, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a coll is io n, the laws of phys ics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle w ill
become heavy m iss iles that can cause serious in
jury. Items i n the vehicle possess energy which
vary w ith vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the most significant factor .
For examp le, in a frontal coll is ion at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the fo rces acting on a 10-lb
( 4 .5 kg) obje ct are abou t 20 times the normal
weight of the item. This means that the we ight
of the item would suddenly be abo ut
200 lbs . (90 kg). Yo u can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying free ly through
t he passenger compartmen t could cause in a co l
lision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to t ie-downs ca n fa il during hard
braking or in a collision and ca use serious pe r
sonal i njury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs i n
t h e luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or f ly ing fo rward as dan
gerous missiles .
- When the re ar seat bac krest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting s traps and
120
-
properly secure items to the t ie-downs in
the l uggage compartment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous mis
siles into the passenger compartment .
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a d efect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediatel y in
form the Nat ional High way Traffic
S afet y Administration (NH TSA ) in
addition t o notify ing Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA re cei ves similar com
pl aint s, it ma y open an in ves tiga
tion , and if it find s that a safety
defe cts exists in a group of
v ehi cles, it ma y order a recall and
remed y campaign . Howe ver ,
NHTSA cannot become in vol ve d in
indi vidu al pr oblem s betw een you ,
your deal er, o r A udi of Am eri ca ,
In c.
To contact the NHTSA, you ma y
eith er call:
T el.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
1 -800-424 -915 3) or
1 -800-424-9 393
or you may write to :
Page 123 of 268

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NHTSA
U.S. Department of Transporta
tion 1200 New Jer sey Av e., S.E.
West Building
Washington , DC 20590
You can also obtain other infor mation about motor veh icle safe
ty from:
http: / /www.safercar .gov
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you be
liev e th at your vehi cle ha s a de
fect that could cau se a cra sh, in
jury or death , you should imm edi
ately inform Transport Canada ,
Defect Investigation s and Recalls.
You should also notify Audi C ana
da .
Canadian customers who wish to
report a safety-related defect to
Transport Canada, Defect Invest i
gations and Recalls, may either
call Transport Canada toll-free at:
Tel.: 1 -800-333-0510 or
Tel.: 1-819-994-3328 (Ottawa re
gion and from other countries)
TTY for hearing impaired: Tel.:
1-888-6 7 5-6863
~ or contact Transport Canada by
rl
:5: mail at:
N l/1 rl
Driving safety
Tran sport Canada
Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga
tions Laboratory 80 Noel Street
Gatineau , QC
J8Z 0Al
For additional road safety infor
mation , please visit the Road
Safety website at:
http://www.tc .gc .ca/eng/
road safety/menu.htm
Active rollover
protection system
Function
Th e rollover protection system helps pro tect ve
hicle o ccupan ts in the event of a rollover.
Fig. 132 Rea r seats: Ro llba r dep loyment range
Fig. 13 3 Rear seats : roll bar deployed
~ ,,-.... . ...,
I ,.
' ' ' ' ' . ' ' . • • '
The active ro llover protection system consists o f:
- t wo ro llbars
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Driving safet y
-the safety belts wit h be lt te nsioners
- the wind shie ld frame
- the rollover sensors
The active rollover protection system provides
addit ional safety in the event of a rollover. W ith in
m ill iseconds, sensors deploy two rollbars located
behind the headrests in the rear seats ¢
fig. 133.
The rollbars, reinforced windshield frame and
belt tens ioners help protect front and rear pas
sengers in the event of a rollover .
The rollover protection system functions when
the power top is both open and closed.
A WARNING
-
Do not use the area beh ind the rear seat
headrests
9fig . 132 as a storage a rea . Th is is
t he a rea whe re the rollbars dep loy. If the ro ll
over pro tect ion system is triggered, objects
placed there can be pro pelled th roug h the
ve
hicle and make it more difficult for the roll
bars to deploy . This increases the risk for seri
ous or life-threaten ing injur ies.
When is rollover protection deployed?
Rollover protection deploys in a collision or roll
over.
Depending on the coll is ion, sensors throughou t
the vehicle and the control mod ule tr igger the
rollover system to deploy.
For safety reasons, ro llover protect ion a lso de
p loys during front, side and rear coll is ions above
a certa in leve l of severi ty .
Retracting rollover protection
F ig . 13 4 Dep loyed roltba r wit h re lease loop .
122
Fig . 13 5 Deployed rollbar w it h power top frame facing up
ward.
If the rollover p rotection has tr iggered but the
vehicle was not involved in an accident, you can
retract the rollover protection yourself in an
emergency. Drive to your authorized Audi dealer
or qualified repair facility immed iate ly to have
the malfunct ion corrected.
With the power top open
.. Pull the loop upward in the direction of the ar
row and hold it in place
9 fig. 134.
.. Slide the rollbar down .
.,.. Release the loop just before the ro llbar reaches
its end position by approximately 1-2 in . (3-5
cm).
.,.. Press t he rollbar down unt il i t stops.
.. Ma ke s ure the rollbar is secure be fore releasing
it .
.. Close the cover @¢
fig. 135.
.. Repeat t he proced ure on the other ro llbar.
With the power top closed
.,.. Sw itch the ignit io n on.
.. Press the conver tible switch to adjus t the co n
ver tible frame until it is vertical ¢
fig. 135 .
.. Pull the loop upward in the direction of the ar
row and hold it in place
9 fig. 134.
.,. Slide the rollbar down .
.. Release the loop ju st before the rollbar reaches
its end position (3-5 cm) .
.,.. Press the rollbar down unt il it stops .
.. Ma ke su re the rollbar is secu re before releasing
i t .
.,.. Clo se the cover @¢
fig. 135 .
.. Repeat the procedure on the other ro llba r .
.. Yo u can now close the power top again .
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& WARNING
-Make sure your head or other pa rts of your
body are not located in the area above the
rollbar when press ing the rollbar down. If
the rollbar is not secured correctly, it cou ld
deploy again as soon as you release it and
cause injuries .
- Have the rollover protection system checked
by your authorized Aud i dealer if it is faulty.
Otherw ise, the system may not deploy cor
rectly in a collision.
- Modifying the rollover protect ion system or
indiv idual components is not permitted .
- Work on the rollover protect ion system
should only be performed by your author
ized Audi deale r or qual ified wor kshop . Oth
erwise the system may not funct ion correct
ly in a collision o r it could deploy unexpect
edly .
- Have the system inspected at service inte r
vals. This ensures the system will always be ready for use. Have your au thorized Audi
dealer check the rollover protect ion system
every two years at the latest.
Dr ivin g s afet y
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Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explain s why safety be lts are neces
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that fo llows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen
gers, always correct ly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im
paired persons must also use safety belts.
L ik e all veh icle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety be lts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother - throughout
the ent ire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt .
&_ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small ch ildren, into any belt. It is espe
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
124
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and (on USA models only) front seat passenger
to remind you about the importance of buckling
up .
Fig. 136 Safety belt warning light in the instrument cl us
ter -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fas ten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
(0
"'
"' 0 N
.. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear the ir safety belts .
.. Protect your children w ith a child restraint sys
tem appropriate for the siz e and age of the chil
dren.
The . warn ing light in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ign it ion is switched on as a re
minder to fasten the safety be lts. In addit io n,
you w ill hear a warning tone for a certain period
of time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their safe
ty belts.
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Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 137 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a wall
Fig . 138 The vehicle cras hes into th e wall
CD
~ ±
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy which var ies with vehicle speed and body weight . Engi
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor. If the
speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50 km/
h) , the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us
ing safety belts~
fig. 13 7, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall ~
fig. 138.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
Safety belts
(2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
in all kinds of accidents and collisions.
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 139 A driver not wea ring a safe ty belt is viol en tl y
thrown forwa rd
Fig. 140 A rear passenger not wear ing a safety belt w ill fly
fo rward and strike t he dr ive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in
strument panel, w indshield, or whatever else is
i n the way~
fig. 139 . This impact with the veh i
cle inter ior has all the energy they had just before
the crash. .,.
125
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Safety belts
Never rely on airbags a lone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection . A irbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor
rectly in orde r to min imize the risk of seve re in
jury o r death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety be lts are a lways there to of
fer protection in t hose accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have a l
ready deployed . Unbelted o ccupan ts can also be
thrown ou t of the vehicle where even mo re severe
or fata l injur ies can occur .
It is also important fo r the rea r passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbe lted passenge rs
i n t he rear se ats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
~ fig . 140. In a frontal coll ision they wi ll be
thrown forward violent ly, where they can hit and
in ju re the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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!
F ig . 141 D river is correct ly rest ra ined i n a sudden b rak ing
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats , gradually reduce energy levels ap
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont ro lled movement that can cause seri
ous injur ies. In add it ion, safety belts reduce the
danger of being throw n ou t of the vehicle.
126
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "softly" through t he "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features eng i
neered into today's veh icles. By "absorbing" the
ki net ic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety be lts make the forces on the body more
"tole rable" and less li kely to cause injury .
Although these examples are based o n a frontal
collision, safety be lts can also substantially re
duce the r isk o f injury in other kinds o f crashes.
So, whether you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t he cor ne r store, always bu ckle up and ma ke sure
o thers do, too. Ac ciden t sta tis tics show that ve hi
cle occupants properly wearing sa fe ty belts have
a lowe r risk of be ing injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Pro perly using
safety belts a lso greatly increases the ab ility of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col
li sion. For this reason, wear ing a safety be lt is le
gally required in most 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 provided. Front airbags, for example, are act ivated only in some
fron tal coll is io ns . The front airbags are not act i
vated in a ll frontal col lisions, in s ide and rear co l
li sio ns, in ro ll overs o r in cases whe re the re is not
eno ugh deceler ation th rough imp act to the front
of the vehicle . T he same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
proper ly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de
scribed in this chapter .
.,. Make s ure that your safety belts are always
ready fo r use and are not damaged .