
Driving Safely
General notes
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need
to read and observe for your own safety, the
safety of your passengers and others . We have
summarized here what you need to know
about safety belts, airbags, child restraints as
well as child safety. Your safety is for us
priori
ty number 1.
Always observe the information
and warnings in this section - for your own
safety as well as for that of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle . Some of the
features described in this sections may be
standard equipment on some models, or may
be optional equipment on others. If you are
not sure, ask your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Make certain that you follow the instruc
tions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the
interest of your passengers.
- Always keep the complete Owner's Liter
ature in your Audi when you lend or sell
your vehicle so that this important infor
mation will always be available to the
driver and passengers.
- Always keep the Owner's literature handy
so that you can find it easily if you have
questions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant
restraint system and work together to help
reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of
accident situations .
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in
technology have made a variety of features
available to help reduce the risk of injury in an
Driving Safely 91
accident. The following is a listing of just a
few of the safety features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all
passenger seating positions,
- safety belt pre-tensioners,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags for the front seats,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features can work to
gether as a system to help protect you and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if
they are not always properly adjusted and
properly used!
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occu
pant safety always depends on the informed and careful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers,
before driving always:
~ Make sure that all lights and signals are op
erating correctly .
~ Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
~ Make sure that all windows are clean and af
ford good visibility to the outside.
~ Secure all luggage and other items carefully
c::> page 65.
~ Make sure that nothing can interfere with
the pedals.
~ Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
~ Instruct passengers to adjust the head re
straints according to their height .
~ Make sure to use the right child restraint
correctly to protect children¢
page 129,
Child Safety.
~ Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same¢
page 59,
General recommendations. .,..
•
•

96 Driving Safel y
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must al ways be free to move and
must n ever be interfered with by a floor mat
or any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without
interference and that nothing prevents them
from returning to the ir original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the peda l area
free and can be secured with floor mat fasten
ers .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake peda l
travel is required to bring the vehicle to a full
stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely ca n cause
loss of vehicle control and increase the r isk
of serious injury.
- Never place any objects in the driver 's
footwell. An object could get into the
peda l area and interfere w it h pedal func
ti on. In case of s udden braki ng or an ac
cident, you would not be ab le to bra ke or
accelera te!
- Alw ays make su re th at noth ing c an f all
or move into the dr iver's footwe ll.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mats that can be securely
at tached to the floor mat fasteners and do
no t interfere with the free movement of the
pedals.
.,. Make su re tha t the floor mats are properly
sec ured and cannot move and inte rfere w ith
the pedals ~.&_ .
Use only floor mats that leave t he pedal a rea
unobstr ucted and that a re firmly secured so
that they cannot s lip out of posi tion. Yo u can
obtain suitable floor mats from your author
ized A udi Dealer.
Fl oor mat f asteners a re i nstalled in you r A udi . Floor mats used in yo
ur vehicle must be at
tached to these fasteners . Properly securing
t h e floor mats will prevent them from sliding
into positions that could interfere with the
pedals or impair safe operat ion of your vehicle
i n other ways.
A WARNING ,-
Pedals tha t ca nnot move free ly can result
i n a loss of vehicle control and inc rease the
r isk of ser ious perso na l inju ry.
- Always make sure that floor mats are
p roperly secu red.
- Never p lace or install floor mats o r other
f loor cove rings in th e vehicle that cannot
be pro pe rly secured in p la ce to prevent
them from slipping and interfer ing wi th
the peda ls o r th e ab ility to cont ro l t he
vehi cle.
- Never p lace or ins tall floor mats or othe r
floor coverings on top o f al ready instal
led floo r mats . Additiona l floor mats and
other coverings will red uce the size of
the peda l area and interfere w ith the
pedals.
- Always properly reinsta ll and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for clean
ing.
- Always make sure that objects cannot
fall into the dr iver footwell while the ve
h icle is moving . Objects can become
trapped under the brake pedal and acce l
erator pedal causing a loss of vehicle
control.
Stowing luggage
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and o ther objects mus t be prop
erly stowed and secured in the luggage com
partment.
L oose items in the lugg age compa rtment c an
shift s udden ly, changing vehicle handling
characteristics. Loose items can a lso increase
the risk of serious persona l injury in a sudden
vehicle maneuver or in a co llision.

~ Distribute the load evenly in the luggage
compartment.
~ Always place and properly secure heavy items in the luggage compartment as far
forward as possible.
& WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items
can fly through the vehicle causing serious
personal injury in the event of hard brak
ing or an accident. To help reduce the risk
of serious personal injury :
- Always put objects, for example, luggage
or other heavy items in the luggage com
partment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage
compartment using the tie-down eyelets
and suitable straps.
& WARNING , ~
Heavy loads will influence the way your ve
hicle handles. To help reduce the risk of a
loss of control leading to serious personal
injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the cen
ter of gravity can also cause changes in
vehicle handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in
the luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rat
ing or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating
specified on the safety compliance stick
er on the left door jamb. Exceeding per
missible weight standards can cause the
vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driv
ing
~ page 91.
& 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
Driving Safely 97
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 convertible top,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument
panel,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest
speed.
& WARNING ~
Always make sure that the doors, all win-
dows, the convertible top 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.
(D Tips
- Air circulation helps to reduce window
fogging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel, on the
left side of the luggage compartment. Be sure to keep these slots free and
open.
- 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 ..,_ •
•

-Never strap more than one person, in
cluding small children, into any single
safety 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 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 being 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 wear the shoulder part of the belt under your arm or otherwise out of posi
tion.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may in
terfere with correct positioning of belts
and reduce their effectiveness.
- 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
correct use of some child restraint sys
tems.
- Never allow safety belts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hardware.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt ha rdware 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 or qualified
workshop . Replacement may be necessa-
Safety belts 103
ry 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 be lts
may not work properly and can impair
the function of the inertia reel¢
ta
ble Cleaning interior on page 156.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 106 Belt buck le and to ngue on t he driv er's se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint
properly ¢
page 59, General recommenda
tions.
.,. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
c:> _& .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢fig . 106.
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automat
ic belt retractor on the shoulder belt . This fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, during hard braking and in an accident .
The belt may a lso lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sha rp curve.

104 Safety belts
During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
q page 15.
Switchable locking feature
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
¢ page 137.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
¢ page 104, Safety belt position .
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
belts are properly positioned on the
body .
-
- Never attach the safety belt to the buck
le for another seat. Attaching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce safety belt
effectiveness and can cause serious per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
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
t ractor when you are securing a child
seat in the vehicle
q page 139.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 107 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match
your body size .
- height-adjustable front seats .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen . The belt
should always fit snugly
¢ fig . 10 7. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary .
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men . Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug
q fig. 107. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 102.

Pregnant women must also be properly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear safety belts correctly -throughout the preg
nancy.
F ig. 108 Safety belt pos itio n during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 104.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rect ly
¢ page 59, General recommenda
tions .
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in upright pos it ion and securely
latched in place before using the belt .
.. Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis¢
fig. 108,
¢.&, .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢ page 103, fig . 106.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buckle .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
de nt.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap po rtion of the safety belt as low as
poss ible across the pe lv is and be low the
rounding of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS and
other impor tan t in forma tion¢ .&.
in Fas
tening safety belts on page
104.
Safety belts 105
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle hos stopped .
Fig . 1 09 Releas ing the tongue from t he buck le
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 109. T he be lt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢ .&, .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehi
cle is mov ing . Doing so will increase your
risk of being inj ured or k illed.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause
severe injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause se
rious injury or death. Safety belts can only
work when they are correctly positioned on
the body . Improper seating pos itions reduce
the effectiveness of safety be lts and will even
increase the risk of injury and death by mov
ing the safety be lt to crit ica l areas of the
body. Improper seating positions a lso in
crease the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag dep loys and strikes an occu
pant who is not in the correct seati ng posi
tion. A driver is respons ible for the safety of
all vehicle occupants and especially for chil
dren. Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ .&, .
~

A WARNING ,~ ~
Not using a booster seat, us ing the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrectly install ing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous pe rsonal injury and death in a co llision
or other emergency s ituation. To help re
duce t he risk of serious persona l injury
and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to t he
center o f the child's co llar bone as poss i
ble and must lie and snug on the upper
body . It must never lie across the throat
or neck. The lap belt must lie across the
pelvis and never across the stomach or
abdomen. Make sure the belt lies f lat
and snug . Pull on the belt to t ighten if
necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a ch ild's body will cause severe inju
ries in an acc ident or other emergency
situation
¢ page 100 .
-Children on the front seat of any car ,
even with Adva nced A irbags, can be seri
o usly injured or eve n killed when an a ir
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on the
sea t.
- Never let a child ride in the ca rgo a rea of
yo ur vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forwar d, sit tin g s ideways o r out of posi
tio n in any way during an a ccident ca n be
stru ck by a deploying airbag. This will re
s u lt in serious personal injury or deat h.
- If you mus t inst all a b oos ter sea t on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
¢page 118, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on whenever
Child Sa fet y 137
the ignition is switched on the inflating
airbag w ill hit the child safety seat or in
fant carrier wit h great force and will
smash the child safety seat and child
aga inst the backrest, door o r roof . Have
the airbag system ins pected immed iately
by your Audi dea ler.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being u sed
¢ page 100, Safety
bel ts,
¢ page 108, Airbag system and
¢ page 129, Important things to know .
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the front passenger can be
Locked with the conver tible Locking retractor
to properly secure child safety seats .
The safety belts eme rgency locking retracto rs
for t he front passenger's seat safety belt h ave
a conver tible locking re trac to r f or c hild re
stra ints. The safety be lt must be locked so
that belt webb ing cannot unree l. The retrac
tor can be act ivated to lock the safety belt and
prevent the safety be lt webb ing from loosen
i ng up duri ng normal dr iv ing . A child safety
seat can only be properly insta lled when the
safe ty belt is locked so that the chi ld and child
safety seat w ill stay in place.
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
c hi ld should always ride in the seat prope rly
r est rained for its age and s ize .
A WARNING
Im properly installed chi ld safety seats in
cre ase the risk of serious personal injury
and deat h in a co llision.
- Always ma ke sure tha t the safe ty belt re
tr act or is lo cked w hen insta lling a chil d
safety sea t. An unlocke d safety bel t re
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
•
•

164 Checking and filling
Checking and filling
Engine hood
Releasing the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 126 Driver' s side footwe ll: e ngin e hood release
lever
.. Open the driver's door .
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
instrument panel
c> fig . 126 in the direction
of the arrow .
The hood pops up slight ly under spring pres
sure.
Opening the engine hood
Fig . 127 Re lease lever under the engine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make sure
that the windshie ld wipers are flat against the
windshie ld. Otherwise, they cou ld damage the
pain t on the hood.
.. Lift the hood slight ly
c> .&, .
.. Pull up on the release under the hood
c> fig . 12 7. This releases the catch .
.. Open the hood all the way.
A WARNING
-Hot engine coolant can burn you.
- To reduce the risk of being burned, never
open the hood if you see or hear steam
or coo lant escaping from the eng ine
compartment . Wait unt il no steam or
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fu lly opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and latch in p lace.
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
c> .&, .
A WARNING
--
A hood that is not completely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv
i ng.
- When you close the engine hood, check it
to make sure the safety catch has proper
ly engaged . The hood should be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts.
- If you notice while dr iv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it .
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in
the engine compartment!
Whene ve r y ou must pe rform any wo rk in th e
eng ine compartment, for e xample chec king
and filling the diff ere nt fluids, ther e is a risk
of injury , burn s and accident s. To prevent
p ers onal injury alwa ys obs erv e the follo win g
WARNING S. Th e engin e c ompartm ent of an y
v e hicl e is a hazardou s area!
c> .&.
A WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any
thing under the hood:
- Sw itch off the engine .
- Remove the ignition key.