170 Driving Safel y
to reduce the risk of inj ury when the vehi
cle is not be ing used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open . A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out . Be ing trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious persona l injury.
- Never let children p lay in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers r ide in the luggage
compartment . Veh icle occupan ts must
always be proper ly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging . Sta le air escapes to the o utside
th rough vents in the trim pane l. Be su re
to keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load . The t ire pr essure is shown on the
tire p ressu re label. The tire pressure la
bel is loc ate d on the driver's s ide B-pi lla r.
The tire pressure label lists the recom
men ded cold t ire inflat ion pressu res for
the veh icle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufact ured.
For recommended t ire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
Q page278.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items .
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly ¢ page 169 , Loading the luggage com
partment .
In a coll is ion, the laws of phys ics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause se
rious injury. Items in t he vehi cle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of t he item . Vehicle speed is the most
s ignificant factor.
F or example, in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10 -lb (5 kg) object a re abo ut 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would sudden ly be
about 200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imag ine the
injur ies that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing
fr ee ly t hro ugh the passenger compa rtment
cou ld cause in a col lision like this.
_& WARNING
We ak, damaged or imprope r straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
i ng hard braking or in a collision and cause
se rious pe rsonal injury.
-Always use s uita ble mo unt ing straps an d
p roperly secu re items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compa rtment to he lp pre
vent items from shift ing or fly ing fo r
ward as dangerous missiles.
- When the rea r seat backrest is folded
down, a lways use suitable mounting
straps and properly secure items to the
tie-downs in the luggage compartment
to hel p prevent items from fly ing for
ward as dangerous missiles into the pas
senger compartment.
- Never attach a chi ld safety seat t ether
s trap to a t ie-down .
Reporting Safety
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u b eli eve that your vehi cle
has a def ect whi ch could cau se
a crash or could cau se injury or
death, you should immediately
inform the National Highway
Traffic Safet y Administration ""
176 Safety belts
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron
tal collision , safety belts can also substantial
ly reduce 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 sta
tistics show that vehicle 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 supplemen
tal airbags to do their job in a collision. For
this reason, wearing a safety belt is legally re
quired 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 provid
ed. Front airbags, for example, are activated
only in some frontal collisions . The front air
bags are not activated in all frontal collisions,
in side and rear collisions, 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 posi tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
.. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
.. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly . -
Always fasten your safety belts correctly
before driving off and make sure all pas
sengers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned properly on
the body.
- Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sit
ting on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front
of the seat while the vehicle is being driv
en.
- Never let any person ride with their feet
on the instrument panel or sticking out
the window or on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the ve
hicle is moving. Doing so will increase
your risk of being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable
objects 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
hardware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce the overall effectiveness of
the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything that may prevent the buckle from latch
ing securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that create slack in the shoulder belt . Howev
er, special clips may be required for the
proper use of some child restraint sys
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly. If web-
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are .,,.
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damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and
loaded in an accident must be replaced
with the correct replacement safety belt
by an authorized Audi dealer. Replace
ment may be necessary even if damage
cannot be clearly seen. Anchorages that
were loaded must also be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or
try to repair the safety be lts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the funct ion of the inertia reel
9 ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 244.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 203 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 7 4, General recommenda
tions .
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright posit ion and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> &_.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis¢ ,&..
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
<=> fig . 203.
Safety belts 177
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking 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 driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::> page 16.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety be lt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to
read the important information about this
feature
<=> page 213.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause ser ious injury in an accident
¢ page 178, Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely latched, the passenger will move for
ward with the backrest during sudden
brak ing, in a sudden maneuver and espe
cially in a crash .
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck-
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
~
178 Safety belts
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effectiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
belt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into critical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c:::> page 215.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 204 Safety be lt pos it ion
u, .... 0 :t
~
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats
and the outer seating positions in the sec
ond row seating,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- 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 possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The belt should always fit snugly
¢
fig. 204. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug¢
fig. 204 . Pull on the belt to ti9ht
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injur ies 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
c:::> page 176.
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 preg
nancy.
Fig. 20S Safety belt position during pre gnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 178.
"Adju st the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c:> page 74, General recommenda
tions .
"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 even
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢
fig. 205 ,
¢A . ~
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.. Inse rt the tongue into the correct b uckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
e:> page 177 , fig . 203 .
.. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
de nt.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap po rtion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible across the pe lv is and be low the
ro unding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other impor tant information
e:> .&. in Fas
tening safe ty belts on page 177.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
F ig . 2 06 Relea sing the to ngu e fr om th e buc kle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
e:> fig . 206 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out
of the bu ckle
c:> _& .
.. Let the bel t wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed posit ion.
On vehicles with
third ro w seat* : an unfas
t ened safety belt can be secured in the retain
ing clip in t he luggage compartment s ide
tr im . In this way, the luggage compartment
cover can be removed without obst ruct io n. Al
so, the belt tongue height can be adjusted so
that luggage compartment can be loaded
without obst ruction wit h the backrest folded
:5: forward.
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Safety belts 179
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehi
cle is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your
risk of being injured o r killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
Wi th the aid of the safety belt heigh t adjust
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area , accord
ing to body size .
Fig. 207 Safety belt heig ht adj ustm en t - loop-a round
fi ttings
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body
e:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 178 .
.. Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig. 207
@ , or
.. squeeze together the (D button, and push
the loop-around fittings d own @.
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper a t
t achment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
-
A lways read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c::> page 176 .
(0 Tips
With the front seats, the he igh t adj ust
ment of the sea t can also be used to ad just
the position of the sa fety belts.
206 Child Safety
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward-facing and
convertible child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1,
1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007 Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on. -
Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immed iate
ly.
@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil
dren:
.. Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 209.
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat .
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 213 .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
.,. If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat , make sure that it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure
more weight than is actually on the seat.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::;, page 208.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always ride in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size . .,.
208 Child Safet y
as possible before insta lling the child
restra int.
- Always make sure t hat nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position .
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not s itting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat ca n fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 173, Safety
belts,
c::> page 182, Airbag system and
c::> page 203, Child Safety.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whe never a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas
senge r seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child rest raint off t he front pas
senger seat and install it proper ly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PAS SEN
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig . 2 16 Schematic overview: keep un use d safety be lts
away from c hildren in child sa fety seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety be lt, @ · ce nter rear safety be lt
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c::> & .
-Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c:> fig. 216.
When doing so, do not engage the converti
ble locking retractor! You shou ld not hear a
"clicking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt.
- Let the belt retractor w ind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
-A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LATCH lower a nchorages or wit h the
standard sa fety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rear seat co uld p lay with un
used rear seat safety belts and become e n
tang led . This co uld cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate the convertible locking re
tractor when routing the safety be lts
arou nd the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
be lt has been routed a round a rear head
restra int.
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Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs. or 9 kg need special rearward -fac
ing child restraints that support the back,
neck and head in a crash.
Fig . 217 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 213 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 208.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 217.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 209
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in
jured and ca n be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 184, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 173 , Safety
belts,
¢ page 182, Airbag system and
¢ page 203, Important things to know.