2015 AUDI A5 Driver

Driving safety
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraints so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le .
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint wh ile driving .
If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restraint.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a chi ld restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size ~
page 151 .
Examples of improper seat ing positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in­
jury or death . Safety be lts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body. Im­
proper seat ing pos itions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and wi ll even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit­
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu­
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
~ Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
~ .&. -
The following bulletins list only some sample po­
si tions that will increase the risk of serious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous.
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Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants stay in a proper seating position and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
being used .
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
' Important safety instructions
Applies to vehicles : wit h knee airbags
A WARNING
Always make sure that the knee airbag can in­
flate without 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 being pushed in­
to you as the airbag deploys.
- No persons (children) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat .
If the airbag deploys, this can result in
serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping bags, for example) can hamper or prevent

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proper deployment of the airbag. Small ob­
jects can be thrown through the veh icle if
the a irbag deploys and injure you or your
passengers .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in­
terference and that noth ing prevents them from
returning to their original pos it ions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav­
el is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the r is k of seri­
ous lnJUry.
- Never place any objects in the driver's foot­
we ll. An object could get into the peda l area
and interfere with peda l function . In case of
s udden br aking or an accident, you wou ld
not be able to brake o r acce lerate!
- Always make sure that noth ing can fa ll or
move into the dr iver's foo twe ll.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely at­
tached to the floor mat fasteners and do not in­
terfere with the free movement of the pedals.
• Make sure that the floor mats are properly se­
cu red and cannot move and i nterfere wit h the
peda ls ~
& -
Use only floor mats that leave the pedal area un­
obstructed and that are firm ly secured so that
they cannot slip out of pos it ion. You can obtain
suitab le floo r mats from you r authorized Audi
dealer.
Dr ivin g s afet y
Floor mat fasteners are insta lled in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. P roperly securing the floor
mats will preven t them from sl iding into posi­
t ions that could interfere with the pedals or im­
pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
-Pedals that cannot move free ly can result in a
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop­
erly secured.
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in p lace to prevent them
from slipp ing and interfering with the ped­
als or the ab ility to control the vehicle .
- Never p lace or install floor mats or other
f loor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats . Addit ional floor mats and other
cover ings will red uce the size of the pedal
area and interfe re with the pedals .
- Always prope rly reinstall and secure floo r
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
mov ing. Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and acce lerator pedal caus­
ing a loss of vehicle control.
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Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives !
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts are neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly .
~ Read all the informat ion that fo llows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the r isk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to reduce the r isk of serious
injury and death in automobile accide nts .
For yo ur protection and tha t of your passen­
gers, always correct ly wear safety belts
when the veh icle is moving.
- Preg nant wome n, injured, or physically im­
paired pe rsons mu st also use safety belts .
Lik e all ve hicle occu pants, t hey are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wea r safety belts . The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -th rougho ut
the enti re pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
t wo in the fron t and two in the rear. Each seating
position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
N ot wea ring safety belts or wea ring them im­
prope rly i ncreases the r is k of se rious personal
injury and death.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, includ­
ing small children, into any belt. It is espe­
ci ally d angerous t o place a safe ty belt over a
c hild sitting on you r lap.
- Never le t mo re people ride in t he ve hicle
t han there are s afety be lts availab le.
Safety bel ts
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate safety
belt or chi ld restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the driver
and (on USA models onl y) front seat passenger
to remind you abou t the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 1 22 Safety bel t warni ng lig ht in the instr um ent clu s­
te r -enlarged
Before driving off, alway s:
.. Fas ten yo ur sa fe ty belt and make sure you are
wearing it pr operly.
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~ Make sure that your passengers also buck le up
and properly wear the ir safety be lts .
~ Protect your children w it h a child rest raint sys­
t em app rop riate for the s ize and age of the chil­
d ren.
The . warn ing light in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a re­
minde r to fasten the safety be lts. In addition,
yo u w ill hea r a warn ing tone for a ce rtai n period
of time.
Fast en your safety belt now and make sure that
your passenger s also properly put on their safe­
ty belt s.
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Safety belts
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 123 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle heading for a wall
Fig. 124 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­
ies w ith 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
c::> fig. 123, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wa ll
c::> fig. 124.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision. Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to SO km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
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(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 phys ics don't just apply to
frontal collis ions, 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. 125 A driver not wear ing a safety belt is violently
t hrown forward
Fig. 126 A rear passeng er not wearing a safety be lt will fly
forward and strike the d river
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, windshie ld, or whateve r else is
in the way
c::> fig . 125 . This impact with the vehi ­
cle interior has all the energy they had just before
the crash. .,.

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Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to deploy in
all kinds of accidents. Although your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only once
and that your safety belts are always there to of­
fer protection in those accidents in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy or when they have al­ ready deployed. Unbelted occupants can also be
thrown out of the vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers in the rear seats endanger not only themselves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig. 126. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure 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!
Fig. 127 Driver is correct ly restrained in a sudden braking
maneuver
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 help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri­ ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of ti me, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety belts can also substantially re­
duce the risk of injury in other kinds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure others do, too. Accident statistics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident. Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supplemental airbags to do their job in a col­ lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions, in roll overs or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other airbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly 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 sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged .
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Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident . The belt
may also lo ck when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r::> page 19.
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible 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
r::;, page 160 .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident
r::;, page 125,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injur ed by the safety belt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r::> page 162.
Safety belts
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 129 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
- height-adjustable front seats .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shoulder belt should 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
r::;, fig . 129 . Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
r::> fig. 129. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt 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 WARNINGS and
other important information
r::;, page 123.
125

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. 130 Safety belt posit ion during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
¢ page 125.
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint correct­
ly
¢ page 54, Seats and storage .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench is
in an upright posit ion and secure ly latched in
place befo re us ing the be lt .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it evenly
ac ross the chest and pelvis
9fig. 130, ~ _&.
... Inse rt the tongue in to the co rrec t buckle of
you r seat until you he ar it latc h securely
¢ page 124, fig. 128 .
... Pu ll on the be lt to make sure that it is secure ly
l atched in the buck le.
A WARNING
Imprope rly p ositioned safety belts can ca use
ser ious persona l inju ry in an acc ident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the sa fety belt as low as pos­
s ible across t he pelv is and be low the round­
i ng of the abdom en.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and othe r important info rmat ion
~ .&. in Fasten ­
ing saf ety belts on page 125 .
126
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
.,,
Fig . 13 1 Releasing th e tongue from th e buckle
... Push the red release b utton on the buckle
~fig. 131. The be lt tongue will spr ing o ut of
the buck le
~ A .
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety be lt while the vehicle is
moving. Do ing so will increase you r risk of be­
ing inj ured o r killed.
Improperly worn safety belts
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Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause ser i­
ous injury or death. Safety be lts can only work
whe n they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effective­ ness of safety belts and w ill even increase the risk
of i njur y and death by moving the safety belt to
c riti ca l areas of t he body. Imp rope r sea ting pos i­
t ions also increase the risk of se rio us injur y and
death when an airbag dep loys and strikes an oc­
cupant who is not in the correct seating position.
A driver is responsib le for the safety of all vehicle
occupa nts and especially fo r ch ildren. Therefore:
... Never pe rm it anyone to assume an incor rect sit-
ting position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ ,& . ...

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A WARNING ,~
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating pos ition whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r:=;,page 123.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned au­
tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activated by sensors
in front, side and rear-end collisions of great se ­
verity. This tightens the belt and takes up belt
slack
r::;, .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioneron page
127. Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur­
ing a collision .
(JJ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
(D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once.
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in rear­
end collisions, in a rollover and in accidents
involving very little impact force, the safety
belt pretensioner are not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety belt
pretensioners will activate on the driver's or
front passenger's sides only, depending on
which side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- 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 relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
Safety belts
of the system are scrapped . An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you.
- 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 correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A 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,
train ing and special equipment necessary.
127