2015 AUDI RS5 CABRIOLET Owners Manual

The front seats are equipped with belt posi­
tioners so it is easier to fasten the safety be lts . T he belt positioners automatically ex ­
tend when the door closes and the ignition
sw itches on ¢
fig. 144.
The belt positioner retur ns to its starting posi­
tion again when
- th e tongue in the bel t latc h engages o r the
belt was not fastened within 60 seconds .
- yo u sw itch the igni tion off.
- you ope n the doo r.
_& WARNING
- O nly y our auth orize d Au di de aler s hou ld
wor k on the sys tem or remove and in stal­
ling system com ponents when perform ­
ing other work .
- T he be lt positioners could cause in jury or
damage if they pi nc h peop le or objects
when extendi ng or retracting .
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 145 Be lt buckle an d to ngue o n th e dr iver's seat
T o provide maxim um protection, sa fety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body .
~ Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 60, Seats and storage .
~ Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched i n place before using the belt¢ ..
&.
~ ~ Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even-
~ Ly across the ch est and pelvis ¢ ,&. .
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Safety belts 12 7
~ Insert the tongue into the correct buck le o f
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
¢ fig. 145.
~ Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buck le.
Automatic safety belt ret ractors
Eve ry safety bel t is equipped with an a utomat ­
ic be lt ret ractor on the shoulder belt. This fea­
ture locks the belt when the be lt is pu lled out
fast, during hard brak ing and in an accide nt.
The belt may a ls o l ock when you drive up or
down a steep h ill or t hrough a sha rp cu rve.
D uring normal driv ing the be lt lets you move
freely .
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre­
tensioner that he lps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the p retensioner is ac­
t ivated. The function of the pretensione r is
monito red by a warn ing light ¢
page 19.
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on t he d river
seat is equipped with a convert ible locking re­
tractor tha t
must be used when t he safety
belt is used to attach a ch ild safety seat . Be
su re to read t he importa nt infor mation about
t h is feature ¢
page 162.
_& WARNING
Im properly posit io ned s afe ty be lts c an
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 128, Safety belt position .
- Safety belts offer opt imum protec tion
only when the seatba ck is upr ight a nd
be lts a re p ro perly posit io ned on the
body.
-
- Never attach t he safety be lt to the buck­
le for another seat. Attac hing t he belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per ­
sonal injury .
- A passenge r who is not properly restrai n-
ed can be seriously injured by t he safety .,.

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.

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Airbag system Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restrain ts . For
airbags to do their job , occupants m ust al­
ways properly wear their safety belts and be
in a proper seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers, before driving off, always:
"" Adjust the dr iver's sea t and steeri ng wheel
p roperly
¢ page 113,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 61,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 126,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 152.
In a collision airbags must inflat e within th e
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is important, both as a
driver and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec­
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 113,
Proper occupant seating positions .
For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con­
trols
¢ page 61.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 15 2.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen­
gers ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to­
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 13 1
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reach ing the peda ls, spec ial
modifications to yo ur vehicle may be necessa­
ry.
Contact your a uthorized Audi dea ler, or call
Audi C ustome r Re lations at 1-800 -822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gene r­
ator will fi ll the ai rbags, break open the pad ­
ded covers, and inf late between t he steering
whee l and the dr iver and between the instru ­
ment panel and the front passenger. The air­
bags will deflate immediately after deploy­
ment so that the front occupa nts can see
t hr ough the w indshield aga in witho ut inter­
ruption .
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that
the a irbags have deployed . The airbags also
inflate wi th a g reat dea l of force and noth ing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Fron t airbags in combin ation wi th properly
worn safety belts slow down and lim it the oc ­
cupan t's forward movement. Together they
help to prevent the driver and front seat pas­
senger from hitting parts of the inside the ve­ hicle while reducing the forces acting on the
occupant dur ing the crash. In this way they
help to reduce t he risk of injury to the head
and upper body i n the c rash . A irbags do not
protect the a rms o r the lower parts of the
body .
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The t riggering of the a irbag system
depends on the vehicle dece le rat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
ele ctron ic co ntro l unit. If thi s rate is below
t he reference value programmed into the con­
trol unit, the airbags will not be trigge red,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a resu lt of the co llision . Veh icle damage, re­
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag s hou ld inflate o r not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and ..,.
•
•

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. ..,.

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Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag System, make certain that
all ch ildren, especially those 12 years and
younger, a lways ride in the back seat properly
restrained for their age and size. The airbag
on the passenger side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to r ide.
The front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a fo rward-facing child safety seat.
It
can be a very dangerous place for an infant or
a child in a rearward-facing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle
h as been certified to comp ly w ith the Requ ire­
ments of United States Federa l Moto r Veh icle
Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Standard requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be t urned off ("sup­
p ressed") if a ch ild up to about one year of
age restrained in one of the rear -facing or for­
ward -facing infant restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with wh ich
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
was certified has been installed on the front passenger seat . For a listing of the child re­
straints that were used to certify compliance
with the US Safety Standard
Q page 154.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the in­
strument panel tells you when the front Ad­
vanced A irbag on the passenger side has bee n
turned off by the e lectronic control unit.
Each t ime you turn on the ignition, the
PAS ­
SENGER AIR BA G OFF
light w ill come on for a
few seco nds and :
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if there is a small child or child restraint on the front passenger seat,
- will go off if the front passenger seat is oc­
cupied by an adult as registered by the
weight-sensing mat
Q page 141, Monitor­
ing the Advanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the control un it detects a total weight
on the front passenger seat that requires the
fro nt airbag to be turned off.
A irbag system 133
If the total weight on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-o ld
c hi ld but less than the weight of a small
adult, the front airbag on the passenger side
can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on). If the PASSENG ER
AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front a irbag on the passenger side has not
been tu rned off by the elect ronic con trol unit
and can deploy if the co ntrol unit senses an
impact that meets the cond itions stored in its
memory .
For exampl e, the air ba g may deplo y if:
-a small ch ild that is heav ie r than a typical 1
year-old ch ild is o n the front passenger seat
( r egard less of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
Q page 154), or
- a child who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in
the instrument cluster and stays on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the P A SSENGER AIR B AG OFF
light does not illum inate and stay lit) even if a
small adult o r teenager, or a passenger who is
not sitting uprig ht with their back against a
non- re cli ned back rest w it h thei r feet on the
vehicle floor in front of the sea t is on t he front
passenger seat
~ page 113, Proper seating
position for the driver.
If the fron t passenger a irbag dep loy s, the
Federa l Standard req uires the airbag to meet
the "low risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce
the risk of injury thro ugh interact ion w it h the
airbag . "Low risk" dep loyment occ urs in those
crashes that take place at lower dece lerat ions
as defined in the electronic control unit
Q page 142, PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light .
Always remember, a child safety seat or infant
carr ier installed on the front seat may be
struck and knocked out of posit ion by the rap­
idly inflat ing passenger's airbag in a frontal
collision . T he ai rbag could greatly reduce the
effectiveness of the ch ild restraint and even
seriously inj ure the child dur ing inflation. •
•

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 .