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-Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adj usted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly ad justs their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraints so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of your head.
If that is not possib le, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le.
- Never attempt to adjust head rest raint
wh ile driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the dr iver head rest for any rea
son, first stop the veh icle safely before at
tempting to ad just the head rest raint.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate fo r
their age and size
q poge 152.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
seated.
Improper seating posit ions can cause serious in
jury o r death . Safety be lts can only work when
they are prope rly positioned on the body. Im
p roper seating posit ions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and wi ll even increase the risk of
in ju ry and death by moving the safety belt to cr it
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys a nd strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position . A driver
i s responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especia lly for children. Therefore:
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos it ion when the veh icle is being used
~ & -
The follow ing bulletins list only some sample po
sitions that will increase the risk of ser ious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples w ill
make you mor e aware of seat ing pos itions that
are dangerous.
The refore, whene ver the vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
Dr ivin g s afet y
-neve r kneel on the seats
- neve r ride w it h the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- neve r put your feet on the instr ument pane l
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cush ion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Imp roper seating posit ions increase the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a prope r seating position and are
properly rest rained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
App lies to vehicles : wit h knee airbags
A WARNING ,-.=-
Always make sure that the knee airbag can in-
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by be ing pushed in
to you as the ai rbag deploys .
- No persons (children) or animals shou ld ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag deploys, th is can result in
serious or fatal injur ies.
- No objects of any kind should be ca rried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or prevent
p roper deployment o f the a irbag . Small ob
jects can be thrown through the vehicle if
117
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 .
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
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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
~ ±
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
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 .
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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 .
127
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
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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.
129