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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.
•
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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.
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. •
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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 .