128 Safet y belt s
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 secur ing a child
safety seat in the vehicle
c::> page 164.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is th e key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 14 6 Safety belt pos it io n
;;; r-0 ± .., CD
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match your body size .
- height -adjustable front seats .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause se rious personal injury in an acci
de nt.
- T he shoulder belt sho uld lie as close to
the cente r of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body. Ho ld the
bel t above the latch tongue and pull it
even ly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no p ress ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways fit snugly
c:> fig . 146. Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety be lt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pe lvis and never over the abdo
men . Make s ure the be lt lies flat and
snug
c::> fig . 146. Pull o n the belt to tight
en if necessary. -
A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shift ing its posit ion on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause ser ious
in ju ry.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS a nd
other important information
c::> page 126 .
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expe ctan t mothers always wear
safety belts corre ctly -throughout the preg
nan cy.
Fi g. 147 Saf ety belt pos it ion dur ing p re gnan cy
To prov ide max imum protect ion, safety belts
must a lway s be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
<=:>page 128.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c::> page 60 , Seats and storage .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in an upright position and secure ly
latched in place before using the belt .
"' Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly ac ross the chest and pelvis
c:> fig . 147,
c::> &_ .
"' In sert the tong ue i nto the correct buckl e of
your seat unt il yo u hear i t latch secu re ly
c;, page 12 7, fig . 145 .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure t hat it is se
curely latched in the buck le.
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_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent .
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible across the pelv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ &. in Fas
tening safety belts on page 12
7.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 14 8 Re lea sing the to ngue from the buckle
... Push the red re lease but ton on the buc kle
¢
fig. 148 . The belt tongue wi ll spring out
of the buckle
¢ ,&. .
0 .... N 9 :r
~
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
gu ide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being inju red or killed .
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly posi tioned safety bel ts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety be lts improperly can cause se
rious injury or death. S afety belts can only
work when they are correct ly positioned on
the body . Improper seating positions reduce
the effect iveness of safety belts and w ill even
Safety belts 129
increase the risk of injury and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to critica l areas of the
body. Improper seating positions a lso in
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the correct seating posi
t ion. A driver is respo ns ible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil
dren. Therefore:
... Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing pos ition in the vehicle while traveli ng
¢ ,&. .
_& WARNING
Improperly worn safety bel ts increase the
r isk of ser ious persona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used .
- Always ma ke s ure that all vehi cle occu
pants are correctly restrained and stay in
a co rrect seating position whenever the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed a ll WARNI NGS and
other important information
¢ page 126.
Safety belt preten-
• s1oners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
T he safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by se n
sors i n fro nt, side and rear -end co llisions of
great seve rity . This tightens the belt and takes
up belt slack¢
& in Service and disposal of
safety b elt pretension er on page 130.
Taking
up the slack he lps to reduce fo rward occupant
movement during a collision .
(D Note
Never let the belt remain ove r a rear seat
back that has been fo lded forward .
130 Safety belts
The safety be lt pretensioner can only be
activated once .
- In m inor frontal and side coll isions in
'
rear-end collisions and in accidents in-
vo lving very little impact force, the safe
ty belt pretensioner are not activated .
- When the safety be lt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is released. This is
norma l and is not caused by a f ire in the
vehicle.
- The relevant safety requirements must
be observed when the vehicle or compo
nents of the system are scrapped . An au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified wor k
shop is fam iliar with these regulations
and will be p leased to pass on the infor
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or indiv id ual parts of the system , par
ticularly the sa fety belt o r airbag, are to
be disposed. We recommend you have
your a uthorized Audi dea ler perform this
serv ice for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on yo ur Audi . Installing, remov
ing , servicing or repa iring of belt prete nsion
e rs can damage the safety be lt system and
prevent it from working correct ly in a colli
sion.
There are some impo rtant things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of
the system will not be impaired and that dis
carded components do not cause injury or po l
lute the environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt pretens ion e r from act ivat ing when needed
or act ivat ing it unexpectedly: -
The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once. If be lt pretensioners
have been activated, the system must be
replaced .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts
of the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems incl uding safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal, installation and disposa l of th is system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your author ized Audi dealer or qualif ied
technician who has an Audi approved re pa ir manua l, train ing and spe cial eq uip
men t necess ary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and p reten
s ioners might be classif ied as Perchlorate
Materia l - specia l hand ling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/h azardouswaste/per
ch lorate. When the veh icle or parts o f the
restraint system including airbag modu les
safety be lts with pretensioners are scrap
ped, all applicab le laws and regulations
must be observed. Your author ized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform th is service for you.
132 Airbag sys te m
angle of im pact that will always trig ger the
airbags, since the circumstances wi ll vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or s oft) of the object which the
car h its, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or re ar collisions, or in roll-overs .
Always remember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offe r pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
a re not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed; for example , when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is st ruck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reaso ns why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i
tute for a safety be lt. The airbag system
works most effective ly when used with the
safety be lts. Therefore, always properly wear
you r safety belts ¢
page 123 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing wheel or
instrument panel will decrease the effec
tiveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of pe rsonal injury in a collision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instr ument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
(25 cm) from t he steer ing wheel, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and incre ase your sea ting dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestr ained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of posi tion in any
way, your risk of injury is much higher.
- Yo u w il l a lso receive serio us in juries and
co uld even be killed if you are up against
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an air
bag inf lates, a lways wear safety belts
properly
c::> page 126, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younger always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they
may be severe ly injured or killed when an
airbag inflates .
- Never let c hildren ride unrestrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad
just the front seats prope rly .
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 113.
-Always sit upright 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
he lp prevent serious in ju ries to the legs
and h ips if the airbag inflates .
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to transport objects . Items can a lso
move i nto the a rea of the s ide airbag or
the front a irbag d uring br akin g or in a
sudden maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air
bags can become projec tiles and cause
inj ury when an airbag inflates.
.&, WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
p lace any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness i n a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the importa nt information
and head the WAR NINGS for important de
t ails about children and Advanced A irbags
c::> page 152. ..,.
134 Airbag sys te m
For this reason, a nd because t he bac k seat is
the safest place for children - when prop erly
restra ined according to their age and size - we
strongly recommend that children always sit in the back seat
Q page 152, Child Safety.
A WARNING
-
A c hild in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be k illed if
t he front a irbag inflates - even wit h an Ad
v a nced Airb ag System.
- T he inflating a irbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with g reat
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety sea t
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you mus t inst all a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on , im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
au thorized Audi dealer .
- Forward-fac ing ch ild safety seats instal
led on the front passenger's seat may in
terfer e wi th the deployment of the air
bag and cause se rious personal injury to
the ch ild.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you mus t
install a forwa rd-facing child restra int on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always m ake su re the forw ard-fa cing
sea t has been des igned and certified by
its manufact urer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag.
- Never put the forward -facing child re
st raint up aga inst or very near the inst ru
ment pane l.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft ad
justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restra int. The
backrest must be ad justed to an upright
position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
li ght comes on and stays on all the
time wheneve r the ignit ion is switched
on.
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious inju ry, ma ke
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht w ill be displayed whenever a child re
straint is insta lled on the front passenger
seat and the ignition is switched on .
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not stay on, per form the checks de
scribed ¢
page 141, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- Take the chi ld 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 author ized Audi dealer immed iate
ly.
- Always carefully follow instr uctions from
child restraint manufacture rs when in
stalling ch ild restra ints.
A WARNING
-If, in except iona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward or rearwa rd -facing child
r estra int on t he front passenger's seat :
- Improper installation of ch ild restra ints
can reduce their effectiveness o r even
p revent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed ch il d restra int
can inter fere with the airbag as it de
p loys and seriously injure o r even kill the
child -even with an Advance d Airbag
System.
- Always caref ully follow the m anu factur
er 's ins truc tio ns p rov ided with the ch ild
safety sea t or carrier .
"' N
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-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
o ccupan ts.
F ig . 149 Location of driver airbag: in steering wheel
Fig. 150 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped w ith an "Advanced
Ai rbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (F MVSS) 208 as app licab le at the time your
ve hicle w as manufac tured. The safety be lts
for the seats have "pretensione rs" that help
to take slack out of the belt system . The pre
tensioners are a lso activated by the electronic
contro l unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts a lso have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag fo r the driver is in the s teer ing
wheel hub
~ fig. 149 and the airbag for the
A irba g sy stem 135
front passenger is in the instr ument panel
~ fig. 150 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
T he re is a lot you need to know about t he a ir
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety o f your passengers, especially in
fants and small children .
.&_ WARNING
Neve r rely on airbags alone for p rotec tion.
- Even w hen they deploy, airbags provide
only suppleme nta l protect ion.
- Airbag work most effectively w hen used
with p roperly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts and make sure that eve rybody in your ve
hicle is p rope rly r est rained .
.&_ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pe cially infants and sma ll children, w ill re
ceive ser io us i njuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Altho ugh the Advan ced A irbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to turn off the
fro nt passenge r airbag if a n infant or a
sma ll child is on the front passenger
seat , nobody can absolutely gua rantee
that deployment under these special conditions is impossible i n all conceiva
ble sit uat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicl e.
- The Advanced Airbag System can dep loy
in acco rdance with the "low risk" option
un der the U.S . Fede ral S tanda rd if a child
that is heavie r th an the typical one-yea r
old child is on the front passenge r seat
a nd the ot her condit ions for a irbag de
ployment are met .
-
M N
er
u..
co ,...., \!) 1.1"1 ,...., 1.1"1 ,....,
-a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the c hild is in one of
t h e chi ld safety seats listed
¢ page 154),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OF F light in the center
of the instrument pane l w ill come on and stay
on.
The front ai rbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small ad ult or teenager is o n the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upright w ith
their back against a non -reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenger airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
d uce the risk of inj ury through interaction
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic co ntrol
u ni t.
¢ page 141
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor
tant information i n the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS.
.8, WARNING
To redu ce the risk of injury whe n an airbag
in flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are unres trained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in
fla tes -even with an Advanced Airbag
Q page 131 .
Airbag system 137
.8, WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser iously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag System .
- Al tho ugh the A dvanced Airbag Sys tem in
your veh icle is designed to tur n off the
fro nt airbag whe n a rea rward-facing
child res tra int has been insta lled on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The in flating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and chi ld against the backrest , center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld re
straints in the back seat .
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
c e s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
lig ht does not come o n and stay on, im
media tely insta ll the rear -fa cing ch ild
safety sea t in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-=
If, in e xceptiona l circumstances, you must
i nstall a forward -facing child restraint on
the front passenger 's seat:
- Always 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 s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft ad justment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before install ing •
•
138 Airbag sys te m
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upr ight
position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENG ER AIR BA G
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched
on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a
l ot of very important parts of the Advanced
A irbag System in it. These parts include the
weight-sens ing mat , sensors, w iring, brack
ets, and more. The function of the sys tem in
the front passenger seat is checked by the
e lectronic control unit when the ignition is on .
T he control unit mon itors the Advanced Air
bag System and turns the airbag indicator
light on when a malfunction in the system
components is detected . The function of the
a irbag ind icator light is described in greater
deta il be low . Because the front passenge r
seat conta ins important parts of the Ad
v a nce d Airbag System, you m ust ta ke care to
prevent it from be ing dam aged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag for
the front passenger seat from doing its job in
a crash .
The front Advanced Airbag System
consis ts o f the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the veh icle that
measure veh icle acceleration/dece leration
to provide information to the Advanced Air
bag System about the severity of the crash .
- An electronic control unit, with integrated crash sensors for front and side impacts.
The contro l unit "decides" whether to fire
the front airbags based on the information
received from the crash senso rs. The co ntro l
u nit a lso "dec ides " whet he r the safety be lt
pre tensione rs should be a ctivated.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
control valve for the d river inside the s teer
i ng w hee l hub . -
An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator and
cont ro l valve inside the instrument pane l for
the front passenger .
- A we ight -sensing mat under t he up ho lstery
padding of the front passenger seat cushion
that measures the total weight on the seat.
The informat io n registered is sent continu
ously to the electronic control unit to regu
late deployment of the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side .
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instr ument cluster
q page 141.
- A sensor in each front seat registers the dis
tance betwee n the respective seat a nd the
s teer ing whee l o r i nstrument panel. The in
formation registered is sent cont inuous ly to
t he ele ct ro nic c ontro l uni t to regula te de
p loyment o f the front Adv anced A irbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes
on and stays on in the cen ter o f the instr u
ment panel
q page 142, fig. 152 and tells
you when the fron t Advanced Airbag on the
passenger side has been tu rned off .
- A senso r below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to meas ure t he tension
on t he safety be lt . T he tension on the safety
be lt and the weight registered by the
weight-sens ing mat he lp the control unit
"decide" whether the front airbag for the
front passenger seat should be turned off or no t
q page 132, Child restraints on the
front s eat -some important things to
k now.
- A senso r in the safety be lt latch fo r th e d riv
er and fo r the front seat passenger tha t
s enses w het he r th at safety bel t is latche d or
no t and transmi ts this information to t he
elect ronic con trol un it.
A_ WARNING
D amage to the front passenger seat can
prevent the front airbag from work ing
properly.
- Imp roper repai r or d isassembly of the
front passenge r and dr iver seat will pre
vent the Advanced Airbag System from
functioning properly .
-