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or conta ct Tran sport C an ad a by
m ail at:
Tran sport Canada
Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga
tion s Laboratory
80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z OAl
For additional road sa fet y infor
m ation, please visit the Road
Safet y websi te at :
http :/ /www.tc.gc.ca /eng/
roadsafety /menu.htm
Active rollover
protection system
Function
T he rollover protection system helps pro tect
vehicle occupan ts in the event of a rollover.
Fi g. 134 Rea r sea ts: Ro llba r deployment ra nge
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F ig . 135 Rea r sea ts: rollba r dep loyed
Driving Safely 121
T he a ct ive ro llover protec tion sys tem consists
of:
- t wo ro ll ba rs
- t he saf ety be lts with belt tension ers
- the wi ndshield frame
- the ro llover sensor s
T he act ive rollover protect ion system provides
additional safety in the event of a rollover.
Within milliseconds, sensors dep loy two roll
bars located be hind t he headrests i n the rear
seats
¢ fig. 135 .
The rollbars , reinforced windshie ld frame and
belt tensioners he lp protect front and rear
passengers i n the event of a rollover.
T he rollover pro tection system funct ions
when the power top is both open and closed.
A WARNING
Do not use t he a rea behind the rear seat
headrests
¢fig. 134 as a storage area.
This is the area whe re the rollbars dep loy .
If the rollover protect io n sys tem is trig
ger ed, obje cts pla ced t her e c an be p ropel
l ed through the vehicle a nd m ake it m ore
diffi cult for t he r oll ba rs to deplo y. This in
creases the risk fo r se rious o r life-th reat
e ning injur ies .
When is rollover protection deployed?
Rollover p rotection de ploys in a colli sion or
rollover.
Dep end ing o n th e c olli sion, senso rs th rough
o ut t he ve hicle a nd the co ntro l m odu le t rigge r
t he r ollover sy ste m to depl oy.
Fo r sa fety reasons, rollover p rotection also de
ploys during front, side a nd rea r collisions
above a cer ta in level of sever ity.
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Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains why safety be lts a re nec
essary, how they work and how to adjust and
wear them correctly.
~ Read a ll the informat ion that fo llows and
heed all of the inst ruct ions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of ser ious
personal in jury and death .
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means availab le to red uce the r isk of se
rious injury and death in a utomob ile acci
de nts . For your prot ecti on and that of
yo ur passenge rs, always co rrec tly wear
sa fe ty bel ts when the ve hicle is mov ing.
- P re g nant women, injured, or physically
imp aired perso ns must also use safe ty
belts. L ike a ll vehicle occup ants, they are
more like ly to be ser ious ly injure d if they
do not wea r safety be lts . The best way to
protect a fet us is to protect the mother -
thro ughout the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seat
i n g position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
N ot wea ring safety belts or wea ring the m
im properly increases the risk of ser ious
perso nal i njur y an d deat h.
- Never st rap more than one pe rson, in
cl ud ing small ch ild ren, into a ny belt . It is
e speci ally dangerous t o pl ac e a safety
bel t over a child s itting on yo ur la p.
- N ever le t mo re peo ple ride in t he ve hicle
th an there are s afety be lts availab le.
Safety belts 12 3
- Be s ure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained w ith a separate sa fe
ty belt or child restra int.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the
driver and (on USA models only) front seat
passenger to remind you about the impor
tance of buckling-up.
Fig . 138 Safety belt warni ng light in the instr ument
cl uster -enla rged
Before driving off, alway s:
~ Fasten your safety be lt and ma ke su re you
are wearing it properly .
~ Make sure that yo ur passengers a lso buck le
up and properly wear their safety be lts.
~ Protect your children w it h a child restraint
sys tem app ropriate fo r the size a nd age of
t h e children.
The . war ning light i n the instrument clus
te r li ghts up when the ig nition is switched on
as a reminder to fasten the safety belts . In ad
dition, you will hear a warning tone fo r a cer
ta in period o f time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure
that your passengers al so properly put on
their safety belt s.
•
•
124 Safet y belt s
Why safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for
people riding in vehicles .
Fig. 139 Unbelted occupants in a ve hicle heading for a
wall
Fig . 140 The vehicle c ras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the
vehicle and the passengers possess energy
which varies with vehicle speed and body
weight . Engineers call this energy ''kinetic en
ergy ."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor . If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to
50 km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not
using safety belts
c::> fig. 139, they will keep
moving at the same speed the vehicle was
moving just before the crash, until something
stops them -here, the wall
c::> fig . 140 .
The same principles apply to people sitting in
a vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision .
Even at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to
50 km/h), the forces acting on the body can reach
one ton (2,000 lbs. or 1,000 kg) or
more. At greater speeds, these forces are
even
higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also
not attached to their vehicle. In a frontal colli
sion they wi ll also keep moving forward at the
speed their vehicle was travell ing just before
the crash. Of course, the laws of physics don't
just apply to frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and col
lis ions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 141 A d river not wea ring a safety belt is violen tly
th rown fo rwa rd
Fig . 142 A rear passenger not wearing a safety belt
will
fl y fo rwa rd and strike the drive r
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the
tremendous forces of impact by holding tight
or bracing themselves. Without the benefit of
safety restraint systems, the unrestrained oc
cupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel , instrument panel, windshield, or what
ever else is in the way c::> fig. 141. This impact .,..
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with the vehicle interior has all the energy
they had just before the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
additional protection. Airbags are not sup posed to deploy in all kinds of accidents. Al
though your Audi is equipped with airbags, all
vehicle occupants, including the driver , must
wear safety belts correctly in order to mini mize the risk of severe injury or death in a
crash.
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always
there to offer protection in those accidents in
which airbags are not supposed to deploy or
when they have already deployed . Unbelted
occupants can also be thrown out of the vehi
cle where even more severe or fatal injuries
can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passen
gers in the rear seats endanger not only them
selves but also the driver and other passen
gers
¢ fig. 142. In a frontal collision they will
be thrown forward violently, where they can
hit and injure the driver and/or front seat pas
senger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision. It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 143 Driver is correctly restrained in a sudden bral<·
ing maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a big dif
ference . Safety belts help to keep passengers
in their seats, gradually reduce energy levels
Safety belts 125
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement that can
cause serious injuries. In addition, safety be lts
reduce the danger of being thrown out of the
vehicle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and
give them the benefit of being slowed down
more gently or "softly" through the "give" in
the safety belts, crush zones and other safety
features engineered into today's vehicles. By
"absorbing" the kinetic energy over a longer
period of time, the safety belts make the
forces on the body more "tolerable" and less
likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fron
ta l 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 a irbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed . Front airbags, for example, a re 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!
126 Safety belts
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.
,&. 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 be ing 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 pa rt of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos i
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, buck les, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer.
- 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 belts yourself.
- Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel~
ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 186 .
Safety belts
Belt positioner
The driver and front passenger seats are
equipped with belt positioners .
Fig. 144 Driver 's seat: Be lt positio ner
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
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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
¢ ,&. .
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... 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 .