M N
~ co
rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
_& 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 ¢
fig. 149. 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 pelvis and never over the abdo
me n. Make sure the be lt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 149. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary .
- A loose-fitt ing safety be lt can cause seri
ous in juries by sh ifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerab le, soft tissue and cause se rious
injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ page 139.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure tha t expectant mo thers always wear
saf ety b elts corr ectly -throughout th e pr eg
nancy.
F ig. 150 S afety be lt pos it io n du ring pregnancy
Safety belts 141
To p rovide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body ¢
page 140.
.. Ad just the front sea t and head restraint cor
rectly ¢
page 60 , Seats and storage.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and secure ly
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 150,
¢.,&. .
.,.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unt il you hear it latch secure ly
¢ page 139, fig. 148 .
.,.. Pull on the belt to make sure that i t is se
curely latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
-Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can
cause ser ious persona l injury in an acc i
dent.
-
- E xpectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the
round ing of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ .&. in Fas
tening safety belts on page
140 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle t he safety bel t wi th the red release
bu tton only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 151 R eleasing th e t ong ue fro m the buc kle
.,.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 151 . The belt tongue w ill spr ing out
of the buckle ¢
.&_. ..,..
142 Safet y belt s
• Let the belt wind up on the ret ractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the veh i
cle is moving. Doing so will increase your
r isk of being injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
-
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust
ment, the three point safety belt strap rout
ing can be fitted to the shoulder area, accord
ing to body size .
~ 0 0 6
Fig. 152 Safety belt heig ht adj ustme nt for th e fro nt
seats -loop -around fittings
.. (0
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body
c:> .&. in Safety belt
position on page 141 .
• Push
the loop-around fittings up c:> fig. 152
@, or
• squeeze together the(!) button, and push
the loop-around fitt ings down @.
• Pull the belt to make sur e that the upper at
tachment is properly engaged.
.&, WARNING
Alw ays read and heed a ll WARNINGS and
other impo rtant informat ion
¢ page 139.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjust
ment of the seat can also be used to a djus t
the posit ion of the safety be lts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se
rious injury or deat h. Safety belts can o nly
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seat ing pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
i ncrea se t he risk of inju ry and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas o f the
body. Improper seating posi tions also in
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an a irbag dep loys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the correct seating posi
tion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all veh icle occupants and especially for chil
dren . Therefore:
• Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c:> ,&. .
.&, WARNING
Improperly worn safety be lts increase the
r isk of ser ious p ersona l injury and death
whenever a vehicle is being used.
- Always ma ke sur e that all vehicle occ u
pants are co rrectly restra ined and stay in
a co rrec t seating position whe never the
veh icle is being used .
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS a nd
o ther impo rtant inform ation
¢page 139.
Safety belt preten
sioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts are tensioned
automatically .
The safety belts are equipped with safety belt
pretensioners . The system is act ivated by sen
sors in front, side and rear-end collisions of
grea t severity. This tightens the belt and takes
u p belt slac k
c:> .&. in Service and disposal of .,._
"" N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
safety belt pretensioner on page 143. Taking
up the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement dur ing a collision .
([) Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seat
back that has been folded forward.
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be activated once .
- In minor frontal and side collisions, in
rear-end collisions, in a rollover and in
accidents involving very little impact
force , the safety belt pretensioner are
not activated.
- In the case of a side crash, the safety
belt pretensioners will activate on the
driver's or front passenger's sides only,
depending on which side of the vehicle
the crash occurs .
- When the safety belt pretensioners are
activated, a fine dust is released. This is
normal and is not caused
by a fire 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 work
shop is familiar with these regulations
and will be pleased to pass on the infor
mation to you.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environ
mental and other regulations if the vehi
cle or individual parts of the system, par
ticularly the safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We recommend you have
your authori zed Audi dealer perform this
service for you .
Service and disposal of safety belt
pretension er
The safety belt pretensioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing of belt pretension
ers can damage the safety belt system and
Safety belts 143
prevent it from working correctly in a colli
sion .
There are some important 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 pol
lute the environment .
_& WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal in
jury and death by preventing a safety belt
pretensioner from activating when needed
or activating it unexpectedly :
- The belt pretensioner system can be acti
vated only once .
If belt 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 including safety belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Spe
cial procedures are required for removal,
installation and disposal of this system.
- For any work on the safety belt system,
we strongly recommend that you see
your author ized Audi dealer or qualified
technician who has an Audi approved re
pair manual, training and special equip
ment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modules and preten
sioners might be classified as Perchlorate
Material - special handling may apply, see
www .dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/per-
ch lorate. When the vehicle or parts of the
restraint system including airbag modules
safety belts with pretensioners are scrap ped, all applicable laws and regulations
must be observed. Your authorized Audi
dealer is familiar with these requirements
and we recommend that you have your
dealer perform this service for you.
•
•
144 Airbag system
Airbag system
Important things to know
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job , occupants must 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 driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
¢ page 127,
• Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
r=; page 61,
• Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 139,
• Always properly use the proper child re-
straint to protect children¢
page 165.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force.
The supplemental airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated properly . Therefore in order to help the
a ir bag to do its job, it is important, both as a
d river and as a passenger to sit prope rly at all
times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and provide supplemental protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
¢page 127,
Proper occupant seating positions.
F or details
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
t rols ¢
page 62.
It's especially important that children are
properly restrained
r=:;page 165.
There is a lot that the driver and the passen
ge rs can and must do to help the individua l
safety features installed in your A udi work to
gether as a system.
Proper seating pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the driver side can do its
job. If yo u have a physical impairment or con- dition that
prevents you from sitting properly
on the driver seat with the safety belt properly
fastened and reaching the pedals , spec ial
modif ications to your vehicle may be necessa
ry.
Contact your authorized Audi dealer, or call
Audi C ustomer Relations at 1-800-822-2834 .
When the airbag system dep loys , a gas gener
ator will f ill the airbags, break open the pad
ded covers, and inflate between the 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 occupants can see
th rough the windshield aga in without inter
ruption .
All of this 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 with a great deal of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front airbags in comb ination with prope rly
worn safety belts slow down and limit the oc
cupant'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 the risk of injury to the head
and upper body in the crash . A irbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the
body.
Both front a irbags w ill not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle deceleration rate
caused by the collision and registered by the
electron ic control unit. If this rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
trol unit, the airbags will not be triggered ,
even though the car may be bad ly damaged as
a result of the co llision . Vehicle damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of veh icle damage
is no t necessarily an indication of whether an
airbag should inflate or not .
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cover every possib le kind and .,.
"" N
0 ::.,: co ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
angle of impact that will always trigger the
airbags, since the circumstances will vary con
siderably between one collision and another.
Important factors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car hits, the angle of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rear collisions, or in ro ll-overs .
Alwa ys rem ember : Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in kinds of collisions .
Your safety belts are always there to offer pro
tection in those s ituations in which airbags
are not supposed to deploy , or when they have
a lready deployed ; fo r example , when yo ur ve
h icle strikes or is struck by another after the
first collision .
This is just one of the reasons why an a irbag is
a supplementary restra int and is not a s ubst i
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effectively when used with the
safety belts. Therefore, always properly wear
your safety belts
¢ page 136.
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 co llision .
- Never sit closer than
10 inches (25 cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than
10 i nches
(25 cm) from the steer ing whee l, investi
gate whether adaptive equipment may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating dis tance from
the steering wheel.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
sitting sideways or out of position in any
way, yo ur risk of inj ury is much highe r.
- You w il l also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld 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 isk o f injury when an air
bag inflates, a lways wear safety belts
proper ly ¢
page 139, Safety belts .
Airbag system 145
-Always make certain that chi ld ren age 12
or younger a lways ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
airbag inf lates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or
improperly restrained in the vehicle . Ad
just the front seats prope rly.
- Never ride with the backrest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the instrument pane l
¢page 127.
-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 f loor in front of the seat to
he lp prevent serio us in juries to the legs
a nd h ips if the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger 's seat
to tra nsport objects. Items can a lso
move i nto the area of the s ide a irbag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sud den maneuve r. Obje cts ne ar the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
injury when an airbag inflates.
_&. WARNING ~
A irbags that have de ployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trai ned
technician who has the necessary too ls
and d iagnost ic equipment to properly re
place any airbag in your vehicle and as
sure system effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled air
bags to be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be su re to read t he importa nt information
and head the WARNINGS fo r important de
tails about children and Advanced Airbags
¢ page 165. ..,.
•
•
148 Airbag system
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat
occupants.
Fig. 153 L ocation of driver airbag: in steer ing wheel
Fig. 154 Locatio n of fro nt passenger's airbag: in the in
st rument panel
Your veh icle is equipped with an "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time your
vehicle was manufactured. The safety belts
for the seats have "pretensioners" that help
to take slack out of the belt system. The pre
tensioners are also activated by the electronic
control unit for the airbag system.
The front safety belts also have load limiters
to help reduce the forces applied to the body
in a crash.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel hub
¢ fig. 153 and the airbag for the front
passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 154 . The general location of the airbags
is marked "AIRBAG".
There is a lot you need to know about the air
bags in your vehicle . We urge you to read the
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
c h apters that make up the owner's literature.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS - they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in
fants and small children.
_&. WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide
only supplemental protect ion.
-Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
- Therefore, always wear your safety belts
and make sure that everybody in your ve
h icle is properly restrained.
_&. WARNING
-A pe rson on the front passenger seat, es-
pecially infants and sma ll children, will re
ceive serious injuries and can even be kil
led by being too close to the airbag when
it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the
front passenger airbag if an infant or a
small child is on the front passenger
seat, nobody can absolutely guarantee
that deployment under these special conditions is imposs ible in all conceiva
ble situat ions that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the "low risk" option
under the U.S. Federal Standard if a child
that is heavier than the typical one-year
old child is on the front passenger seat
and the other conditions for airbag de
p loyment are met .
-Accident statistics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating posit ion.
- For their own safety, all children, espe
cially 12 years and younger, sho uld al
ways ride in the back properly restrained
for their age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your veh icle is equipped w ith a front Advanced
A irbag System in compliance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd
208 as applicab le a t the time your vehicle was
manufac tured .
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
p rotection fo r the driver's and fron t passeng
e r' s heads and upper bodies in fronta l crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece leration is high enough .
The fron t Advanced A irbag Sys tem for the
front seat occ upants is no t a substi tute for
your safety bel ts. Rather, it is part of the over
a ll occupa nt restraint system in your vehicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to protect you, if you are s itting up
right, wearing your safety belt and wearing it
properly . This is w hy you and your passenge rs
must always be properly restrai ned, not just
because the law requires you to be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle
has been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
qu irements for 3 and 6 year-o ld childre n on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low ris k dep loymen t cr ite
ria are intended to he lp red uce the risk of i n
j ury thro ugh in teraction with the front airbag
that can occ ur, fo r example, by being too
close to the steering whee l and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates.
I n addition, the sys tem has been certif ied to
comp ly with the "suppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for infants 12 months old and younger
who are restra ined on the front passenger
A irbag system 149
seat in child rest raints that are listed in the
Standard
~ page 167, Child restraints and
Advanced Airbags.
"Supp ress ion" requires the fron t airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if :
- a child up to about one year of age is re
s trained on t he front passenger sea t in one
o f the rear -fac ing or fo rward -facing infan t
restraints listed in Federal Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard 208 with which the Ad
vanced Airbag System in your ve hicle was
cert ified. For a listing of t he chi ld restraints
that were used to certify your veh icle's com
plia nce w ith the US Safety Standard
~ page 167,
-weight less than a thres hold level stored in
the control unit is detected on the front pas
senge r seat.
When a person is detected on the front pas
senger seat, weighing more than t he total
weight of a chi ld that is about 1 year old re
stra ined in one of the rear-fac ing o r fo rward
facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Mo
tor Vehicle Safety S tanda rd 208 w it h whi ch
t h e A dvan ced Airbag Sys tem in yo ur vehicle
was certified), the front airbag on the passen
ger side may or may not deploy .
T he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
whe n the ele ct ro ni c cont ro l uni t detects a to
ta l we igh t on the front passenger sea t that re
quires the front airbag to be t urned off . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned off by the contro l
unit and ca n dep loy if the control un it senses
an impact that meets the cond itions stored i n
i ts memory .
If the total weig ht on the front passenger
seat is more than that of a typical 1 year-old, but less than the we ight of a small adult, the
front a irbag on the passenger side may dep loy
(the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on) .
For example, the airbag may deploy if: I),
•
•
150 Airbag sys te m
- a small child that is heavier than a typical 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of
the child safety seats listed
q page 167),
-a chi ld who has outgrown child restraints is
on the front passenger seat.
I f the front passenger airbag is turned off , the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center
of the instrument panel wi ll come on and stay
on.
The front ai rbag on the passenger side may
not deploy (the PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF
light does not illuminate and stay lit) if:
- a small ad ult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not sitt ing upr ight w it h
their back against a non-reclined backrest
with their feet on the vehicle floo r in front
of the seat is on the front passenger seat .
I f the front passenge r airbag deploys, the
F ederal Standard requires the airbag to meet
the " low risk" deployment criteria to help re
duce the risk of injury through interact ion
with the airbag. " Low risk" deployment occurs
in those crashes that take place at lower de
celerations as defined in the electronic control
un it .
q page 154
Al way s remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle
is equipped with Advanced Airbags, the safest
p lace for children is properly restrained on the
back seat . Please be sure to read the impor
tant information in the sect ions that follow
and be sure to heed a ll of the WARNINGS .
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury whe n an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts properly.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rward,
s itting sideways or out of position in any
way, your risk of in jury is much higher.
- You w ill also receive serio us inju ries and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against
the a irbag or too close to it when it in
fla tes - even with an Advanced Airbag
q page 144.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
van ced A irbag System.
- Altho ugh the Advanced Airbag System in
your veh icle is designed to tur n
off the
front airbag when a rea rward-facing
chi ld res traint has been instal le d on the
front passenger seat, nobody can abso
lutely g uarantee that dep loyment is im
possible in all conceivable situations that
may happen dur ing the usefu l life of your
veh icle.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and chi ld aga inst the backrest, center
armrest, doo r, or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild re
straints in the back seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and s tay on, im
mediately inst all the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you m ust
i nsta ll a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and s ide a irbag .
- Never p ut the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost pos ition in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as fa r away from
the airbag as possible, before installing