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A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly .
- Always fasten your safety belts correctly be fore driving off and make sure al l passen
gers are correctly restra ined.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be pos itioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small ch ildren, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap .
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or st icking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted .
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury .
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hard
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos ition.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter
fere with correct positioning of belts and re
duce the overall effectiveness of the system .
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre
ate slack in the shoulder be lt. However, spe
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i
dent . Inspect belts regularly. If webb ing,
bind ings, buckles, or retracto rs a re dam-
Safety belts
aged , have belts replaced by an author ized
Audi dealer .
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au
t horized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al
so be inspected.
- Never remove, modify , d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func
tion of the inertia reel~
page 184 .
Safety belts
Belt positioner
The driver and front passenger seats are equip
ped with belt positioners.
F ig. 142 D river 's seat : Be lt posit io ner
The front sea ts are equipped with bel t position
ers so it is easier to fasten the safety belts . The
belt positioners automatically extend when the
door closes and the ignition switches on
~ fig . 142.
The belt positioner returns to its starting position
again when
- the tongue in the belt la tch engages or the bel t
w as no t fa stened wi thin 60 seconds.
- you sw itch the ignition off.
- you open the door .
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Safety belts
_& WARNING
-Only your authorized Audi dealer should
work on the system or remove and installing
system components when performing other
work.
- The belt positioners could cause injury or
damage if they pinch people or objects
when extending or retracting.
Fastening safety belts
Safety first · everybody buckle up!
Fig. 143 Be lt buck le and tongue on t he driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be pos itioned correctly on the wear
er's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restra int p roper
ly ¢
page 59, Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt ¢ .&, .
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelvis ¢ .&, .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ fig . 143 .
.,. Pu ll on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
Autom atic safety bel t retra cto rs
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the be lt is pulled out fast ,
du ring hard b rak ing and in an accident. The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up o r down a steep
hi ll or through a sharp curve . During no rma l driv
ing the belt lets you move free ly .
128
Safety belt pr etensi oner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten
s ioner that he lps to tighten the safety be lt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated .
The function of the pretensioner is mon itored by
a warning light¢
page 19.
Convertible lockin g re tra ctor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convert ible locking retrac
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
¢page 161.
_& WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
serious inj ury in an accident ¢
page 129,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer opt imum protection only
when the seatback is up right and belts are
p rope rly pos itioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for a nother seat . Attaching the belt to the
w rong buc kle w ill reduce safety belt effe c
tiveness and can c ause serio us pe rsonal in
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety be lt it
self when it moves from the stronge r parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo
men .
-Always lock the conve rtible locking retractor
when yo u are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
¢ page 163.
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Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 144 Saf ety belt pos it io n
~
"' l'-9 r .. a,
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size .
- height-adjustable front seats.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- T he shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen . The belt should always fit
snugly ¢
fig. 144. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
- The lap belt port ion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pe l
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
¢ fig. 144. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury .
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other important information
¢ page 126 .
Safety belts
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 145 S afety belt position during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body
¢ page 129.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint co rrect
ly
¢ page 59, Sea ts and storage.
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear sea t bench is
in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt .
.,. Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelv is
¢fig. 145, ¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 128, fig . 143.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
-
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident .
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos
sible across the pelvis and below the round
ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information¢&.
in Fasten
ing safety belts on page 128.
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Safety belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red relea se
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 146 Re le as ing th e to ngu e fr om th e buck le
.. Push the red re lease button on the b uck le
Q fig. 146 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buckle
Q ,& .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retr actor as you
guide the bel t tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh icle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be
ing injured or killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
a
~ 0 :i: .. 0J
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se
vere injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri
ous injury or death. Safe ty belts can only work
when they are correctly posit ioned on the body .
Improper seating pos it ions reduce the effective
ness of safety belts and will even inc rease the risk
of injury and death by moving the safety be lt to
cr itica l areas of the body . Improper seati ng posi
tions a lso increase the risk of serious injury and
death when an airbag deploys and strikes an oc
cupant who is not in the correct seating position.
A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and espec ially for children. Therefore :
.. Never perm it anyone to ass ume an incorrect sit -
ting position in the vehicle while traveling
Q A .
130
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the r isk
of ser ious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
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 126 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular sev erity, saf ety belts are tensioned au
tomatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pre tensioners. The system is act ivated by sensors
in front, side and rear-end collisions o f great se
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
s lack
¢ .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 131.
Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupan t movement dur
i ng a collision .
@ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti
vated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear
end co llisions and in accidents involving
very little impact force, the safety belt pre
tensioner are not activated.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti vated, a fine dust is released . This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the vehicle .
- The re levant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop is familiar
with these regulations a nd will be pleased
to pass on the information to yo u. ...
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-Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regulations if the vehicle or indi
vidual parts of the system, particularly 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 preten
sioner
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing ,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working cor rectly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
syst em will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
_&. WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten
sioner from activating when needed or acti
vating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be activat
ed only once.
If belt pretensioners have
been activated , the system must be re
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety belt system.
- Safety belt systems including safety belt
pretensioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are required for removal, instal
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
training and special equipment necessary.
@) For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and pretension
ers might be classified as Perchlorate Material
- special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca .gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
Safety belts
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system including airbag modules safe
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you .
131
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Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, befo re driving off, always:
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
Q page 114,
"' Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
Qpage 60,
"'Wear safety be lts properly C? page 126,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
Qpage 152.
In a coll is ion airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerab le force. The sup
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper•
Ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions
c> page 114, Correct
passenger seating positions.
Fo r details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
c>page 60.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
Qpage 152.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seat ing position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a phys ical impairment or condition that
prevents you from sitt ing properly on the dr iver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
132
reaching the pedals, specia l modifications to your
vehicle may be necessary.
Contact your authorized Audi deale r, or call Audi
Customer Relat ions at 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag system dep loys , a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags wi ll deflate im
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the w indshield again
without interruption.
All o f this takes place in the blink o f an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have dep loyed . The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front a irbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forwa rd move
ment . Together they he lp to prevent the driver
and front seat passenge r from hitting parts of
the insid e the veh icle wh ile reduc ing the forces
acting on the occupant dur ing the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk o f 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 de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con
trol unit. If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the coll is ion . Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessar ily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possible kind and an
gle of impact that will always trigger the air bags,
since the circumstances will vary conside rably be
tween one collision and another. Impo rtant fac
tors 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
IJ>-
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also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in roll
overs .
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbag s wi ll deploy on ly once,
and on ly in cer tain kinds of collisions. Your safety
b e lts a re a lways there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most
effectively when used w ith the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 124.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r in
strument panel will decrease the effect ive
ness of the airbags and will increase the risk
o f persona l injury in a coll is ion .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the peda ls and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing forward, sit
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You will also receive serio us injuries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r isk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
<=> page 12 7, Safety belts .
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always r ide in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may
be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im
properly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
front seats properly.
-
Airbag syste m
- Never ride with the back rest reclined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer -
ing wheel o r the instrument panel
c::> page 114.
- Always sit up right with your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front air
bag d uring braking or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become
p rojectiles and ca use in jury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t have deployed i n a crash mus t be
r eplaced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap
p rove d by Aud i an d in stalled by a trained
technici an who has the ne cessary too ls and
diagnostic equipment to properly rep lace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read the important information and
head the WARNI NGS for important details
about ch ild ren and Advanced Airbags
c::> page 152.
Even though your veh icle is equipped wit h an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that a ll chil
dren, especially those 12 years a nd you nger, a l
ways ride in the bac k seat properly restrained fo r
the ir age and size. The airbag on the passenger
s ide makes the front seat a potent ia lly dangerous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
sa fest p lace for a child in a forward-facing ch ild ..,.
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Airbag system
safety 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 veh icle has
been ce rtified to comp ly w ith the Requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehi
cle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off ("suppressed") if
a child up to about one year of age restrained in
one of the rear-fac ing or forward-facing infant re
straints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 w ith which the Advanced A irbag
System in your vehicle was certified has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat. Fo r a listing
of the ch ild restraints that were used to certify
comp liance with the US Safety Standard
¢page 154.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Ai rbag on the passenger side has been turned off
by the electron ic control unit.
E ach t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light will come on for a few
seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child re
stra int on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the weight
sensing mat¢
page 142, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight on
the front passenger seat that requ ires the front
ai rbag to be turned off.
If the tota l weight on the front passenger seat is
more than that of a typical 1 year -old child but
less than the we ight of a small adult, the front
ai rbag on the passenger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come
on). If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passenger
side has not been turned off by the electronic
134
control unit and can dep loy if the control unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor
ed in its memory .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
-a small ch ild that is heavier than a typical 1
year-old chi ld is on the front passenger seat (re
ga rdl ess of whethe r the child is in one of the
child safe ty seats listed¢
page 154), or
- a child who has outgrow n chi ld restraints is on
the front passenger seat .
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
instr ument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a sma ll adult
o r teenager, or a passenger who is not sitt ing up
r ight w ith their back against a non-reclined back
rest with their feet on the vehicle floor in front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
¢ page 114, Proper seating position for the driv
er .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Federal
Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment criteria to reduce the risk of in
ju ry through interaction with the airbag. "Low
risk" deployment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the electronic control unit ¢
page 142, PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be struck
and knocked out of position by the rapidly inflat
i ng passenger's airbag in a frontal collision . The
airbag could greatly reduce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation.
For th is reason, and because the back seat is the
safest place for children - when prope rly restra in
ed accord ing to their age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children always sit in the back
seat ¢
page 152, Child safety. ..,.