M N
0 I.J "". rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
.. Make sure to use the right child rest raint
correct ly to protect children
Q page 171,
Child Safety .
.. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page 52,
General recommendations .
.. Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly.
Also instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety belts properly ¢
page 136 .
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condi
tion of the vehicle, the driver as well as the
driver 's ability to concentrate on the road
without being distracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the
veh icle and all of its occupants.
If your ability
to drive is impai red, safety r isks for everybody
in the vehicle increase and you also become a
hazard to everyone else on the road ¢
A.
Therefore:
.. Do not let yourself be distracted by passen
gers or by using a cellular telephone.
.. NEVER drive when your driving ability is im
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
.. Obse rve all traffic laws, rules of the road
and speed limits and plain common sense .
.. ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traff ic
and weather conditions .
.,. Take frequent breaks on long trips . Do not
drive for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are t ired, under
pressure or when you are stressed.
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death when
ever a vehicle is being used.
Driving Safely 12 7
Proper occupant
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is impor
tant for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 144 Correct seat ing pos it ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the driver's seat to the
follow ing pos ition:
.. Adjust the driver's seat so that you can easi
ly push the pedals all the way to the floor
wh ile keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
¢.&_ .
.. Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upr ight position so that your back
comes in full contact w ith it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that th ere is a
distance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) be
tween the steering wheel and yo ur breast
bone
Q fig. 144. If not possible, see your au
thorized Audi dealership about adaptive
equipment .
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steer
ing wheel and airbag cover points at your
chest and not at your face.
.,. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with
your elbow(s) slightly bent.
.. For adjustable head restra ints: 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 poss ible. Move the head restraint so that
it is as close to the back of the head as pos-
sible . .,.
128 Driving Safely
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
9 page 139.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so
that you are in control of the vehicle at all
t imes.
Fo r detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
<=>page 53.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position
or too close to the airbag can be seriously
injured by an airbag as it unfolds . To help
reduce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between your breast
bone and the steering wheel.
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the knees and
the lower part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the
outside of the steering wheel rim with
your hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock
positions to help reduce the risk of per
sonal injury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Hold
ing the steering wheel the wrong way
can cause serious injuries to the hands,
arms and head if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supple
mental driver's airbag to protect you in a
collision .
- Always sit in an upright position and nev
er lean against or place any part of your
body too close to the area where the air
bags are located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front
seats properly and make sure that all
passengers are properly restrained. -
For adjustable head restraints: before
driving, always also adjust the head re
straints properly.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle
is moving. Your seat may move unexpect
edly and you could lose control of the ve hicle .
- 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 171. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat <=>
page 145.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position
is important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of
injury in the event of an accident, we recom
mend that you adjust the seat for the front
passenger to the following position:
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is
in an upright position and your back comes
in full contact w ith it whenever the vehicle is
moving.
• For ad justab le head restra ints: 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 <=>
page 130. Move the head re
straint so that it is as close to the back of
the head as possible.
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of
the front passenger seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
<=> page 139.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
<=> page 52. ...
138 Safety belts
occupant will slam violently into the steering
wheel, instrument panel, windshield, or what
ever else is in the way
c::> fig. 149. This impact
with the vehicle interior has all the energy
t hey had just before the crash.
Never rely on a irbags 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 othe r passen
gers ~
fig. 150. 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. 151 Driver is co rr ect ly re strain ed in a sudd en brak
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
applied to the body in an accident, and help
prevent the uncontrolled movement tha t can
cause serious injuries . In addition, safety belts
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 ti me, 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
tal collision, safety belts can also substantial
ly reduce the r isk 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 airbags,
you still have to wear the safety belts provid
ed. Front airbags , for example, are 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 no t enough decelera tion
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!
M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) 1.1'1 ,...., 1.1'1 ,....,
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 12 7,
"" Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢ page 53,
""Wear safety be lts properly ¢ page 139,
"" Always properly use the proper child re-
stra int to protect ch ildren
r::::> page 171.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force .
The supplementa l airbags can cause injuries if
the dr iver or the front seat passenger is not
seated prope rly . T herefore in order to help the
a irbag to do its job, it is impo rtant, both as a
d river and as a passenge r to s it properly at all
times.
By keep ing room between your body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenge r
compartment, the airbag can i nflate fully and
comp lete ly and provide supp lemen tal protec
tion in ce rtain frontal collisions
r::::> page 12 7,
Proper occupant seating positions . For deta ils
on the operation of the seat adjustment con
trols ¢
page 53.
It's espe cially important that children a re
p roperly restrained
r::::> page 171.
There is a lot that the d river and the passen
ge rs ca n and must do to help the individua l
safety features ins talled in your A ud i work to
gether as a system.
P rope r seat ing pos ition is important so that
the front airbag on the dr iver s ide ca n do its
job. If yo u have a physical impa irment or con-
A irbag system 145
dition that prevents yo u from sitting properly
o n the driver seat with the safety belt properly
f astened and reach ing the peda ls, or if you
have concerns with regard to the function or
operation o f the Advanced Airbag System,
please contact your author ized Audi dealer or
qualified wo rkshop, o r call Audi Customer Re
l ations at 1-800-822-2834 fo r poss ible modi
fica tions to your veh icle.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas gener
ator will fill t he a irbags, break open the pad
ded cove rs, and inflate between the steer ing
whee l and the dr ive r and between the instru
ment pane l and the fron t passenger. The a ir
bags will deflate immedia tely after dep loy
ment so that the front occupants can see
thro ugh the windshie ld again witho ut inter
ruption .
A ll of th is takes place in t he blink o f an eye, so
f ast that many people don't even realize that
the airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso
inflate with a great dea l of force and nothing
shou ld be in their way when they deploy.
Front a irbags in combination with properly
wor n safety belts slow down and lim it the oc
c u pant's fo rward movement . Togethe r they
help to preve nt the drive r and front seat pas
senger from h itti ng pa rts of the inside of the
vehicle while reducing the forces act ing 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. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts o f the
body.
Both front airbags wi ll not inflate in all fronta l
collisions . The trigge ring of the airbag system
depends on the vehicle dece lerat ion rate
ca used by the co llision and registered by the
elec tron ic control unit. If t his rate is below
the reference value programmed into the con
tro l unit, the airbags will not b e trigge red,
even t hough the car may be bad ly damaged as
a res ult of the co llision . Ve hicl e damage, re
pair costs or even the lack of ve hicle damage
is not necessarily an indica tion of whether an
airbag shou ld inflate or not . .,. •
•
146 Airbag sys te m
Since the cir cumstances will vary considerab ly
between one collision and anot her, it is not
possib le to def ine a range of vehicle speeds
that will cover every possible k ind and angle
of impact t hat will always trigger the airbags.
Important factors include, for example, the
nature (hard or soft) of the object which the
car h its, the ang le of impact, vehicle speed,
etc. The front airbags will also not inflate in
side or rea r collisions, or in ro ll-overs.
Al ways rememb er: Airbags will deploy only
once, and only in certa in k inds of co llisions.
Your safety belts are always there to offer 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 your ve
hicle strikes or is struck by another vehicle af
ter the first co llision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is
a supplementary restraint and is not a substi
tute for a safety belt . The airbag system
works most effect ively 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 dec rease the effec
t iveness of the airbags and will increase
the risk of personal injury in a collision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (2S cm)
to the stee ring wheel or instrument pan
el.
- If you cannot sit more than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the s teer ing whee l, investi
gate whethe r adaptive equipmen t may
be available to help you reach the pedals
and increase your seating distance from
the steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especia lly chil
dren must be restrained properly when
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestra ined
or improperly restrained child could be
injured by striking the inter ior or by be
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre st rained or imp roperly rest rained child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning forward,
sitt ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any
way, your risk of injury is m uch h igher.
- You will a lso receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if yo u are up aga inst
the airbag or too close to it when it in
flates - even w ith an Advanced A irbag.
- To reduce the risk of injury when an a ir
bag inflates, always wear safety belts
properly ¢
page 139, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12
or younge r always ride in the rear seat. If
children are not properly restrained, they may be severe ly inju red or killed when an
ai rbag inflates.
- Never let children ride un restrained or
improperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad
just the front sea ts prope rly.
- Never ride with the back rest reclined.
- Always sit as far as possible from the
steer ing whee l or the inst rument panel
¢pag e 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 floor in front of the seat to he lp preven t serio us in ju ries to the legs
a nd h ip s if the airbag infla te s.
- Never re cline the front passenger 's sea t
to transport ob jects. Items can a lso
move into the area of the s ide airb ag or
the front a irbag du ring bra king or in a
sudden maneuve r. Objects near the air
bags can become projectiles and cause
in jur y when an airbag inflates.
A WARNING
-Airbags that have deployed in a crash must
be replaced.
- Use on ly orig inal equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary too ls
~
M N
0 I.J ""'. rl I.O
"' rl
"' rl
-Take the child 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 Audi dealer immediately.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when in
stalling child restraints .
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward or rearward-facing child
restraint on the front passenger's seat:
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child - even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
seat or carrier.
- Always make sure that there is nothing
on the front passenger seat that will
cause the capacitive passenger detection
system in the seat to signal to the Airbag
System that the seat is occupied by a person when it is not, or to signal that it
is occupied by someone who is heavier
than the person actually sitting on the
seat . The presence of additional objects
could cause the passenger front airbag
to be turned on when it should be off, or
could cause the airbag to work in a way
that is different from the way it would have worked without the object on the
seat.
Airbag system 149
Front airbags
Description of front airbags
The airbag system can provide supplemen tal
protection to properly restrained front seat occupants.
Fig. 157 Locat io n of drive r airbag : in steering wheel
Fig. 158 Locat ion of fron t pa ssenger' s airbag: in the in·
st rument panel
Your vehicle 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 . 157 and the airbag for the
front passenger is in the instrument panel
¢ fig. 158. 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 .,..
150 Airbag system
detailed information about airbags, safety
belts and child safety in this and the other
chapters 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.
A WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
- Even when they deploy, airbags provide only supplemental protection .
- 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
hicle is properly restrained .
- Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering
wheel rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00
o'clock positions to help reduce the risk
of personal injury if the driver's airbag in
flates.
- Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of severe injury to the arms, hands, and
head if the driver airbag deploys.
A WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will
increase the risk of injury in a crash by in
terfering with the way the airbag unfolds
and/or by being pushed into you as the air
bag inflates.
-Always make sure nothing is in the front
airbag deployment zone that could be
struck by the airbag when it inflates.
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag
deploys and cause serious personal in
Jury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on
your lap when the vehicle is in use .
-
-Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the
doors; never attach then to the doors or
the windshield; never place them over or
near or attach them to the area marked
.,AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment panel or the seat backrests; never place them between these areas and you
or any other person in the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such
as accessory GPS navigation units or mu
sic players. Such objects could cause seri
ous injury in a collision, especially when
the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to
transport objects. Items can also move
into the deployment area of the side air
bags or the front airbag during breaking
or in a sudden maneuver. Objects near
the airbags can fly dangerously through
the passenger compartment and cause
injury, particularly when the seat is re
clined and the airbags inflate.
A WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, es
pecially infants and small 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 impossible in all conceiva
ble situations that may happen during
the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy
in accordance with the ,,low risk" option
for 3- and 6-year-old children under the
M N
0 <.J 'SI: ,...., \!) ..,.,
,...., ..,., ,....,
U.S. Federal Standard if a child with elec
trical capac itance greater than the com
bined capacitance of a typical one-year
old infant restrained in one of the for
ward fac ing or rearward-fac ing ch ild
seats w ith which your vehicle was certi
fied is on the front passenger seat and
the other conditions for airbag deploy ment are met.
- Acc ident statist ics have shown that chil
dren are generally safer in the rea r 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 p roperly rest rained
for their age and size .
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in comp liance with Un ited
States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 as applicable at the time your vehicle was
manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supple ments the safety belts to provide add it iona l
protection for the driver's and front passeng
e r's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes.
The airbags inflate only in frontal impacts
when the vehicle dece le rat io n is high enough.
The front Advanced A irbag System for the
front seat occupants is not a substitute for
your safety belts . Rather, it is part of the over
all occupant rest raint system in your ve hicle.
A lways remember that the airbag system can
only help to pro tect you, if you are s itting up
righ t, wearing your sa fety belt and wearing it
properly. This is why you and yo ur passengers
must always be properly restrained, not just
because the law requires you to be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle h as been certified to meet the " low r isk" re
q ui rements for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on
the passenger s ide and very small adu lts on
the dr iver side. The low risk deployment crite
ria are intended to he lp reduce the risk of i n
j ury through interaction with the front airbag
A irbag system 15 1
that can occur, for examp le, by being too
close to the steering wheel and instr ument
panel when the airbag inflates .
In add ition, the system has been certified to
comply with the "s uppression" requirements
of the Safety Standard, to turn off the front
airbag for in fants 12 months o ld and younger
who are restrained on the front passenger
seat in child restraints that are listed in the
Standard
c> page 173, Child restraints and
Advanced front airbag system .
"Suppression" requires the front a irbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a child up to abo ut one year of age is re
strained on the front passenger seat in one
of the rear-fac ing or forward -facing infant
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 the chi ld restraints
that were used to certify you r vehicle's com
p lia nce w it h t he US Safety Standa rd
c>page 173,
-When a pe rson is detec ted o n the front pas
senge r seat that has an e lec trica l capa ci
tance t hat is more than the tota l electrical
capacitance of a child that is about 1 year
old restrained in one of the rear-facing or
forward-facing infant restraints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
w ith which the Advanced A irbag System in
your vehicle was certified), the front airbag
on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the electron ic cont ro l unit detects a to
ta l elect rical capac itance on the front passen
ger seat that requi res the front a irbag to be
turned off. If the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come on, the front airbag on
the passenger side has not been turned off by
the contro l unit and can deploy if the control
u nit senses an impact that meets the condi
tions stored in its memory.
If the total e lectr ica l capacitance registered
on the front passenger seat is more than that
ll>
•
•