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A WARNING ,~ ~
Front seat passengers who are unbelted,
out of position or too close to the airbag
can be seriously injured or killed by the air
bag as it unfolds. To help reduce the risk of
serious personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright
position and never lean against or place
any part of their body too close to the
area where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of po
sition or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured by an airbag as it un
folds with great force in the blink of an
eye.
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front
passenger's breastbone and the instru
ment panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front pas
senger's knees and the lower part of the
instrument panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
passenger seat properly.
- For adjustable head restraints: before
driving, always also adjust the head re
straints properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in
front of the seat. Never rest them on the
seat, instrument panel, out of the win
dow, etc. The airbag system and safety
belt will not be able to protect you prop
erly and can even increase the risk of in
jury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests
are tilted back, the greater the risk of in
jury due to incorrect positioning of the
safety belt and improper seating posi
tion.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢ page 165. Special precautions apply
Driving Safely 123
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
c> page 139.
Proper seating positions for passengers
in rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with
both feet on the floor consistent with their
physical size and be properly restrained
whenever the vehicle is in use .
To red uce the risk of injury caused by an incor
rect seating position in the event of a sudden
braking maneuver or an accident, your pas
sengers on the rear bench seat must always
observe the following:
... For ad justab le head restraints: adjust the
head restraint so the upper edge is as even
as possible with the top of your head . If that
is not possible, try to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this position
as possible
c>page 124 .
... Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
... Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c>page 133 .
... Make sure that children are always properly
restrained in a child restraint that is appro
priate for their size and age
c> page 165.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on
the rear seat can be seriously injured in a
crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat
of their own and properly fasten and
wear the safety belt belonging to that
seat.
- Safety belts only offer maximum protec
tion when the safety belts are properly
positioned on the body and securely
latched. By not sitting upright, a rear
seat passenger increases the risk of per
sonal injury from improperly positioned
safety belts!
- For adjustable head restraints: always
adjust the head restraint properly so that
it can give maximum protection.
•
•

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-never lean up against the instrument pane l
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the w indow
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or
back of the seat
- never ride in the footwe ll
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Improper seat ing positions increase the
risk of serious personal injury and death
whenever a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all vehicle occu
pants stay in a proper seating posit ion
and are properly restra ined whenever the
vehicle is be ing used.
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to vehicles: with knee airbags
A WARNING
Always make su re that the knee a irbag can
inflate without inte rfe rence . Objects be
tween yourse lf and the airbag can inc rease
the risk of in jury in an ac ciden t by interfer
ing w ith the way the a irbag deploys or by
being p ushed into you as the airbag de
ploys .
- No persons (ch ild ren) or animals should
ride in the footwell in front of the pas
senger seat. If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in se rious or fata l injuries.
- No objects of any kind sho uld be car ried
in the footwe ll area in front of the driv
er's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects
(shopping bags, for example) can ham
per or preven t proper deployment of the
airbag. Small objects can be thrown
through t he vehicle if the airbag deploys
and injure you o r your passengers.
-
Dr iving S afel y 125
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that a ll peda ls move free ly without
interfe rence and that nothing prevents them
from return ing to their orig inal positions .
Only use floor mats t hat leave t he pedal area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten ers .
If a brake circ uit fai ls, increased brake pedal
trave l is required to b ring the vehicle to a f ull
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move free ly can cause
loss of vehicle co ntrol and increase the risk
of s erious injury.
- Never p lace any objects in the drive r's
footwell. An ob ject cou ld get into the
pe dal area and inte rfe re with pedal func
tion. In case of sudden brak ing o r an ac
cident, yo u wo uld not be able to b rake or
accelerate!
- Always ma ke sure tha t no thing can f all
or move into the driver's footwel l.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
attached to the floor ma t fasteners and do
not in terfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
"' Ma ke su re t hat the floor mats are prope rly
secured and cannot move and in terfere with
t he peda ls ¢ ..&_ .
U se only floor mats that leave the peda l area
u nobst ructed and th at are firmly secu re d so
that they c annot slip o ut o f posi tion. You c an
obta in suitab le floor mats from yo ur aut ho r
ized Audi Dealer.
Floor mat fastene rs a re in stall ed in your Aud i.
1111>
•
•

126 Driving Saf ely
Fl oor mats used in your vehicle must be at
tached to these fasteners. Proper ly securing
the floor mats will prevent them from s liding
into pos itions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operation of your vehicle
in other ways .
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result
in a loss of veh icle contro l and increase the
r isk of serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are
properly secured.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be properly secured in place to prevent
them from slipping and interfering w ith
the pedals or the ability to control the
vehicle.
- Never place o r insta ll floor ma ts or other
floor coverings on top of a lready insta l
led floor mats. Additional floor mats and
other coverings w ill reduce the size of
the pedal area and interfere with the
pedals.
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall into the driver footwell wh ile the ve
hicle is moving. Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and accel
erator peda l causing a loss of veh icle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be prop
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com
partment.
L oose items in the luggage comp art ment can
shift suddenly, changing veh icle hand ling
characteristics. Loose items can also increase
the risk of serious personal injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a collision . ..
Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment .
.. Always place and proper ly secure heavy
items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible .
.. Secure luggage using the tie -downs p rov id
ed
¢ page 64, Luggage compartment.
.. Make su re that the rear seatback is securely
la tc hed in place.
A WARNING
Imp roperly store d luggage or other items
can fly thro ugh the vehi cle causing ser ious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
i ng or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of ser ious personal in jury:
- Always put objects, fo r example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com pa rtment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the t ie-down hooks
and suitable straps.
A WARNING
=
Heavy loads w ill influence the way your ve-
hi cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a
l oss of contro l leading to serious pe rsonal
i njury :
-Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
veh icle ha ndling :
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
poss ible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible .
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle We ight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceed ing per
miss ible weight standards can cause the
veh icle to slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe dr iv
ing¢
page 120.

A WARNING ,~
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas
from being drawn into the vehicle, always
keep the rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than
those fitting completely into the luggage
area because the rear lid cannot be fully
closed.
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear
lid open, observe the following notes to
reduce the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win dows, the power roof* and the rear lid are
securely closed and locked to reduce the
risk of injury when the vehicle is not being
used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make
sure that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended es
pecially with the rear lid left open. A
child could crawl into the vehicle through
the luggage compartment and close the
rear lid becoming trapped and unable to
get out. Being trapped in a vehicle can
lead to serious personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the
vehicle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must
always be properly restrained in one of
the vehicle's seating positions.
Gj) Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure
to keep these slots free and open .
-
Driving Safely 127
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the
tire pressure label. The tire pressure la
bel is located on the driver's side B-pillar.
The tire pressure label lists the recom
mended cold tire inflation pressures for
the vehicle at its maximum capacity
weight and the tires that were on your
vehicle at the time it was manufactured. For recommended tire pressures for nor
mal load conditions, please see chapter
I:!) page 233.
Tie-downs
The luggage compartment is equipped with
four tie-downs to secure luggage and other
items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo prop
erly<>
page 126, Loading the luggage com
partment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that
even smaller items that are loose in the vehi
cle will become heavy missiles that can cause
serious injury. Items in the vehicle possess en
ergy which vary with vehicle speed and the
weight of the item. Vehicle speed is the most
significant factor.
For example , in a frontal collision at a speed
of 30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb (4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the
normal weight of the item. This means that
the weight of the item would suddenly be about 200 lbs. (90 kg) . You can imagine the
injuries that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item flying
freely through the passenger compartment
could cause in a collision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used
to secure items to tie-downs can fail dur
ing hard braking or in a collision and cause
serious personal injury.
-Always use suitable mounting straps and properly secure items to the tie-downs in
'
•
•

128 Driving Safely
th e lu gg age com partment to help pre -Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY :
vent items from shiftin g or flying
1-800-424-9153) or fo rwar d as dange ro us m iss iles.
- W hen the rear seat back rest is folded
1-800 -424-9393
down, always use su itab le mounting
st raps a nd pro perly secure items t o th e
or you may write to:
tie -downs in t he luggage com partmen t
NHTSA to help prev ent item s from f lying fo r-
w ar d as dan gerous miss iles into t he pas-
U.S. Department of Transporta-
se ng er compartm ent .
tion - N ever at tach a child sa fety seat tet her
s tra p to a tie- down.
1200 New Jersey Ave., S. E.
Reporting Safety
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
You can also obtain other infor-
mation about motor vehicle
If you believe that your vehicle safety from:
has a defect which could cause
a crash or could cause injury or http:/ /www. safe rca r. gov
death, you should immediately
Applicable to Canada
inform the National Highway If you live in Canada and you
Traffic Safety Admini stration
believe that your vehicle has a
(NHTSA) in addition to notify- defect that could cause a crash,
ing Audi of America, Inc. injury or death, you should im-
If NHTSA receives similar com- mediately inform Transport
plaints, it may open an investi- Canada, Defect Investigations
gation, and if it finds that a and Recalls. You should also no-
safety defects exists in a group tify Audi Canada.
of vehic les, it may order a recall
Canadian customers who wish
and remedy campaign. Howev- to report a safety-related de-
er , NHTSA cannot become in-
feet to Transport Canada, De-
volved in individual problems feet Investigations and Recalls,
between you, your dealer, or may either call Transport Cana-
Audi of America, Inc .
da toll-free at:
....
To contact the NHTSA , you may
either call:

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Important safety instructions about
safety belts
Safety belts must always be correctly posi
tioned across the strongest bones of your
body.
~ Always wear safety belts as illustrated and
described in this chapter.
~ Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them
improperly increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death. Safety belts can
work only when used correctly.
- Always fasten your safety be lts 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 d riv
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 part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion .
Safety belts 133
-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 requ ired for the
proper use of some child restraint sys
tems .
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an
accident. Inspect belts regularly.
If web
bing , bindings, buckles, or retractors are
damaged, have belts replaced by an au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified work
shop.
- 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 203.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 154 Bel t b uckle and to ngue on the drive r's seat

134 Safet y belt s
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer 's body .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restr aint
properly
c::, page 53, General recommenda
t ions .
.,. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright pos ition and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::, .&, .
.,. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelv is
c::, .&, .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the correct buckl e of
yo ur sea t until you hea r it latc h securely
c::>fig. 154.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in t he buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat
i c belt retracto r on the shoulder be lt. This fea
ture locks the be lt whe n the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and i n an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or throug h a sharp curve.
During normal driv ing the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The sa fety belts are equipped with a be lt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove s lack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated ¢
page 136. The function of the pre
tensioner is mon it ored by a warning light
¢ page 18.
Convertible locking retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is eq uipped w ith a convertib le loc king re
tractor that
must be used when the safety
be lt is used to attach a child seat. Be su re to
read the important information about this
featu re
c::> page 176.
.,& WARNING
Imprope rly posit ioned safety belts can
cause se rious injury in an accident
c::> page 13 4, Safety bel t posi tion.
- Safety belts offer opt imum protection
only when the seatback is upr ight and
be lts are properly posit ioned o n the
body .
- If the rear seat backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger w ill move for
ward with the bac krest dur ing sudden
b ra ki ng, in a sudden maneuver and espe
cially in a cra sh.
- N ever attach t he safety belt to t he buck
le for another seat . Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce s afety be lt
effec tiveness and can cause seri ous per
sonal injury .
- A passenger who is not prope rly restrain
e d ca n be seriously injured by the safe ty
be lt itse lf w hen it moves from the st ron
ge r parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- A lways loc k the conve rtible locking re
tractor when you are secu ring a child
seat in t he veh icle
c::, page 178.
(D Tips
F o r i nforma tion on safe ty belt pre tension
e rs, refer to
c::, page 136.
Safety belt position
Correc t belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 155 Sa fety belt pos it ion
U se the height adjustment to change the posi
tion of t he shoulder belt of the front safety
belts.
~

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_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent .
- The shoulder belt shou ld lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as poss ible
and should fit we ll on the body . Ho ld the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pe lvis and there is
no press ure on the abdomen. The be lt
should a lways f it snugly
c> fig. 155 . Pull
on the be lt to tighten if necessary.
-A loose -fitting safety be lt ca n cause seri
o us injuries by shifting its position on
yo ur body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause serious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and other important information
c:.>page 133.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
safety belts correctly- throughout the preg
nancy .
Fig. 156 Safety belt pos it io n durin g pregnancy
To provide maxim um protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
c> page 134.
.. Adjust the front seat and adj ustab le head
restraint * correctly
c:.> page 53, General rec
omm endations.
Safety belts 135
.. Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly ac ross th e chest and pelv is
c> fig. 156,
c>&_ .
.. In sert the tongue into the cor rect buck le of
your sea t unt il you hear it la tch securely
c:.> page 133, fig . 154 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buck le .
_& WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety belts can
cause ser ious persona l inju ry in an acc i
dent .
-
-Expectant mothers m ust alw ays wea r the
lap portion o f the safety bel t as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed a ll WARNI NGS and
other important information
c:.> &. in Fas
tening safety belts on page 134.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
F ig. 157 Re le asin g the tong ue fro m the b uckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
c> fig . 157 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle
c> A_ .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the bel t tongue to its stowed position .
_& WARNING
Never unfasten sa fety belt whi le the vehi
cle is mov ing . Doing so wi ll increase your
risk of being in jured or k illed .