Safety belts
Autom atic safet y belt retractors
Every safety belt is eq uipped w ith an automatic
be lt retractor on the shou lder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the be lt is pulled o ut fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident . The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv
ing the belt lets you move freely.
S afety belt pre te n sioners
The safety be lts are equipped with a belt preten
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove s lack when the pretensioner is activated .
The function of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r:::') page 16.
Swi tchable lo cking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped w ith a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important informat ion about th is feature
r=;, page 181 .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident¢
page 148,
Safe ty belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rea r seat back
rest to which t he center rear safety belt is
attached is securely latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used . If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen
ger will move forward with the backrest dur
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck le
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt effec
t iveness and can cause serious persona l in
jury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be se riously in ju red by the safety belt it
self when it moves from the stronger parts
148
of the body into critical areas like the abdo
men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are secur ing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r=;, page 183.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 161 Safety belt posit ion
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Standard features o n your veh icle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
s ize .
- belt he ight adjustment fo r the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Imp roperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
serious pe rsonal injury i n an accident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sit s as low as pos
sib le on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen . The belt should always fit
snug ly ¢
fig. 161. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt po rtion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possi ble across pel
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
¢fig. 161. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can ca use serious
in juries by sh ifting its position on your body
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detail below . Because the front passenger seat
contains important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System, yo u must take care to prevent it from be
ing damaged. Damage to the seat may prevent
the Advanced Airbag for the front passenger seat
from do ing its job in a crash .
The front Ad vanced Airb ag S ystem con sis ts
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts . The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors . T he control un it also "de
cides" whether the safety be lt pretensioners
sho uld be activated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the driver inside the steering
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve inside the instrument panel for
t h e front passenger.
- A weig ht-sensing mat under the upholstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that meas ures the tota l weight on the seat. The
information registered is sent cont in uous ly to
the e lectronic control unit to regulate dep loy
ment of the front Advanced Airbag on the pas
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 162.
-A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance between the respect ive seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor
mation registered is sent cont inuously to the
elect ron ic cont ro l unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
- T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the i nstrument
pane l¢
page 162, fig . 168 and tells you when
the front Advanced Ai rbag on the passenger
side has been turned
off .
-A sensor below the safety belt la tch fo r the
front seat passenge r to measure the tension on
Airbag syste m
the sa fe ty belt. The tens ion on the safety be lt
and the weight registe red by the weight -sens
ing mat help the control unit "decide" whether
the front a irbag for the front passenger seat
should be turned
off or not¢ page 153, Child
restraints on the front seat- some important things to know.
- A sensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transm its this informat ion to the elect ro nic
cont ro l unit.
A WARNING
D amage to the fron t passenger seat can pre
vent the fron t air bag from working prope rly.
- Imp roper repai r or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver sea t will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from functioning properly .
- Repairs to the front passenge r seat must be
performed by qualified and p roperly trained
workshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or driver seat from the vehicle .
- Never remove the upho lstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble o r remove par ts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sh arp objects in yo ur po ckets or
p la ce them on t he seat.
If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work properly .
- Never carry things on yo ur lap or carry ob
jects on the passenger seat. S uch items can
increase the we ight registe red by the
weight-sensing mat and send the wrong in
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store items under the front passenger
seat . Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
under the passenger seat could be dam
aged, p reventing them and the airbag sys
tem from wo rking prope rly.
- Never p lace seat covers or rep lacement up
holstery that have not been specifically ap
p roved by Aud i on the front seats.
- Seat covers can prevent the Advanced Air bag System from recognizing child
159
Airbag syste m
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
r::!>page 136, Correct
passenger seating positions,
- the adu lt is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assist handle
above the front passenger door or supporting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety belt is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading or impression on the weight-sens ing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety be lt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat .
In addition to the
P ASS ENGER AIR BA G OF F
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSE NGER A IR BAG OFF or PASSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
will briefly appear in the instru
ment cluster display . Thi s is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not funct ion ing prop
erly cannot prov ide supplementa l protect ion
in a frontal crash.
- If the airbag indicator light
r:!> page 16
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediate ly by your
authorized Aud i dealer.
It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not s up
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag in flates, a chi ld without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restraint
that has not been proper ly installed will be
ser iously injured and can be killed.
- Even though your veh icle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certa in
that all ch ildren, especially 12 yea rs and
164
younger, a lways ride on the back seat prop
erly restrained for their age and size.
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced A irbag System.
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately insta ll the
rea r-facing chi ld safety seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authori zed Audi dealer .
- A t ight tether or other s trap on a rea rward
facing chi ld restraint attached to the front
p assenger sea t can put too much pressure
on the weight-sens ing mat in the seat and
reg ister more weight than is actually on the
seat. The heavier weight registered can make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed caus ing
serious or even fatal injury to the child .
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the seat into i ts rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft ad justmen t range, as fa r away
from the airbag as possib le. The backrest
m ust be adjusted to an upr ight position.
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignit ion is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG OF F light does
not go out when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after tak ing the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
prope rly seated and restra ined at one of the
rea r seat ing pos itions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer befo re transpo rting
anyone on t he fro nt passenger seat.
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Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always
be properly restrained in a child safety seat certi
fied for their si ze and weight¢
fig. 175 and
¢fig. 176 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the front
seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride . The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat. It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat.
.8, WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad·
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif
ficult to install the child seat with the head
Child safety
restraint in place ¢page 67. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 144, Safety belts,
¢ page 152, Airbag system
and
¢ page 172, Important information.
.8, WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the front
passenger's seat, the child's safety and well
being require that the following special pre
cautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
-Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost position of the passenger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 162, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
179
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body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate comp letely and pro
vide supp lemental protection in certain frontal
coll is ions .
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the booster
seat imprope rly, incorrect ly installing a boos
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im prope rly increases the r isk of se rious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer
gency sit uat ion. To he lp reduce the risk of se
r ious personal inju ry and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to the
c en ter o f the child's co llar bone as possible
and must lie f lat and snug on the uppe r
body.
It must never lie across the throat o r
neck . The lap belt m ust lie across the pelv is
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to t ighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe in juries in an
acc ident or other emergency situat ion
~ page 144.
-The rea r side of the child safety seat shou ld
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head rest raint if it is d if
ficult to install the child seat w ith the he ad
res traint in p lace
~ page 67. Inst all the
head restraint again immed iate ly once the
child seat is removed . Dr iv ing without head
restraints or with head rest raints that are
not prope rly adjusted inc reases the r isk o f
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be ser ious ly in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
yo ur vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld lean ing fo r
ward, sitting s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in
any way dur ing an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. Th is w ill result in ser ious
persona l inju ry or death .
Child sa fety
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenge r seat because o f exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght must come on and stay on, when
eve r the ignit ion is switched o n.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, perform the
checks desc ribed
~ page 162, Monitoring
th e Advanc ed Airbag System.
- Take t he chi ld restraint off the fron t passen
ge r seat and install it properly at one of the
rea r seat posi tions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
ligh t does n ot stay on whenever
the igni tion is switched on.
- Always read and heed al l WARN IN GS when
eve r using a child res tra ine d in a vehicle is
be ing used ¢
page 1 44, Safety belts,
¢ page 152, Airbag system and
¢ page 172, Important information .
Securing child seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas
senger can be lock ed with th e conv ertible locking
retrac tor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retracto rs fo r
the rea r seats safety belts an d for the front pas
senger 's seat safety be lt have a convert ible lo ck
i ng re tr acto r fo r child restr aints. The safety be lt
must be loc ked so that belt webbing cannot un
reel. The ret ractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety be lt webb ing
from loosen ing up d uring normal driv ing. A child
safety seat can on ly be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and c h ild safety seat will stay in p lace .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and younge r,
shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope rly re
stra ined for their age and size.
181
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,&_ WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints will
increase the risk of injury and death in a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided by
the manufacturer of the child restraint you intend to install in your vehicle.
- Never install a child restraint witho ut a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
requ ire the top tether strap to be used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH lower
anchorage points can lead to injury in a colli
sion. The LATCH lower anchorage po ints are
designed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems on
one LATCH lower anchorage point .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other
item to the LATCH lower anchorages.
(D Tips
- In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower uni
versal anchorage bars") are used to describe
the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISO FIX" is used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
i
"' m
Fig . 178 Schematic overview : LATCH anc ho rage point loca
tions
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your ve hicle which are eq uipped w ith the lower
anchorages system.
Chil d sa fe ty
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked for
quick locating .
Fig. 179 Lower anchorages, cove rs m arked
Fig . 1 80 Rea r seats: lower ancho rage bracket locat ions
Lower anch orages
The lower a nch o rage attachmen t po ints are lo
cated between the rear seatback and rear seat
cushion .
Remove the covers
Q fig . 179 to access the lowe r
anchorage a ttac hment po in ts.
The lower anchorage attachment points are visi ble
9 fig. 180.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts.
Anchorages provide a secure and easy-to-use at
tachment and min imize the poss ibi lity of improp
er child restrain t installation.
All child restraints manufactured after Septem ber 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage attach
ments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points are
only intended fo r installation and attachment of
ch ild restra ints specifically certified for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages. Ch ild restra ints that are..,_
185