2016 AUDI A4 warning

Driving sa fe ty
Tie-downs
Applies to vehicles: with 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 properly
¢page 126, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in­
jury. Items in the veh icle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant facto r.
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces act ing on a 10-lb
(4 .5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item. Th is means that the weight
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg). You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (9 0 kg) item flying free ly through
the passenger compartment could cause in a co l­
lision like this.
/1. WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to secure items to tie-downs can fail d uring hard
brak ing or in a collision and cause serious per­
sonal injury.
- Always use suitab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down, always use suitab le mounting straps and
prope rly secure items to the tie-dow ns in
the luggage compartmen t to help p reve nt
items from f lying forwa rd as dangerous
missiles into the passenger compartment .
- Never a ttach a child safe ty seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
128
-
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you belie ve that your vehi cle
ha s a defect whi ch could cau se a
c rash or could cau se injur y or
d eath, you should immedi ate ly in­
form the Nat ional Highw ay Traffic
Safet y Admini stration (NHTSA) in
a ddition to n otif yin g Audi of
Ameri ca, Inc.
If NHTS A re cei ves s imilar com­
pl aint s, it m ay ope n a n inv estiga­
tion , and if it find s that a saf ety
d efec ts ex ists in a group of
ve hicle s, it m ay ord er a re call and
r e med y campaign. H owe ver,
NHTSA cannot b ecome in volved in
indi vidual p robl em s between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, In c.
To conta ct the NHTSA, you ma y
e ither call:
T el.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY:
1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9 393
or y ou may writ e to:

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r explains why safety be lts a re neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and dea th .
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ilab le to reduce the risk of serious
injury and dea th in automob ile accidents .
For yo ur protect ion and that of your passe n­
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fety be lt s
when the veh icle is moving .
- Pregnant wom en, in ju re d, o r physically i m­
paired persons mus t also use s afety be lts.
L ik e all vehi cle o ccu pants, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injure d if th ey do no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
i n g position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
N ot wea ring safety bel ts or weari ng them im­
properly increases th e r isk of ser ious personal
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever st rap more tha n one perso n, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into a ny be lt .
It is espe­
ci ally dan gerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c hild s itting on you r lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in t he vehicle
t h an t he re are saf ety bel ts availab le.
130
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and (on USA models only) front seat passenger
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 141 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e in st rument clu s­
ter -enl arged
Before driv ing off , alway s:
.. Fasten your sa fety belt and make sure you are
wearing it prope rly.
(0
"'
"' 0 N .. Make sure that your passengers a lso buc kle up
and proper ly wea r th eir safety belts .
.. Protec t your ch ildren with a ch ild rest raint sys­
tem app ropr iate for the size and age of the chil­
dren .
The . war ning light i n the instrument cluste r
l ights up when the ig nition is swi tched on as a re­
minde r to fas ten t he safety be lts. In addition,
yo u w ill hea r a wa rn ing tone for a ce rt ain per io d
of time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their safe­
ty belts.

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_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correct ly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are cor rect ly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, into any belt .
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitt ing
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or st icking out the
window or on the seat .
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects 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 hard­
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position .
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder be lt . However, spe­
cial clips may be requ ired for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i­
dent. Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler .
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inert ia reel¢
page 193.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
F ig. 14 7 Belt buckle and tongu e on t he d river' s se at
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body .
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly
¢ page 59, Seats and storage.
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion a nd securely latched in
place before using the belt
Q _&. .
"' Ho ld the bel t by the tongue and pu ll it evenly
across the chest and pelvis¢_&. .
... Insert the tongue in to the correct buckle of
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
Qfig. 147.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle .
IIJ,,
133

Safe ty belts
Autom ati c s afet y belt retr actors
Every safety belt is equ ipped with an automa tic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in a n accident . The belt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. Dur ing normal driv­
ing the belt lets you
move freely .
Safety belt p ret en sion ers
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten­
sioner that helps to t ighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The function of the pretensioner is mon itored by
a warning light
r:::') page 19.
Convertib le loc king retracto r
Every safety be lt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mus t be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant information about this feature
c:;, page 167.
.&_ WARNING
Imprope rly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:;, page 134,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat back­
rest to which the center rea r safety belt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec­
tiveness and can cause serious persona l in­
jury.
- A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
134
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­ men.
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c:;, page 169.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 148 Safety belt posit ion
-"' .... 9 I ... a,
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
s ize.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- automatic belt height adjustment for the rear
seats .
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an acc ident.
- The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fi t well on t he body. Hold the belt
above the latch to ng ue and pull it evenly
across the chest so tha t it s its as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no pressure
on the abdomen . The belt sho uld a lways f it
snug ly
c:;, fig. 148 . Pull on the belt to tig hten
if necessary.
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as poss ible across pel ­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure the belt lies flat and snug
c:;, fig. 148. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary. .,.

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-A loose-fitting safety be lt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its pos ition 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
c!) page 132.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The bes t way to pro tec t the fe tus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig . 14 9 Safe ty belt pos itio n dur ing pregn an cy
To provide max imum p rotection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body
c:> page 134.
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor­
rectly ¢
page 59 , Seats and storage .
.,. Make su re th e 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 pelv is
c:> fig. 149, c:> ,& .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rec t buckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch securely
,:!)page 133, fig . 147.
.,. Pull on the be lt to m ake sure that it is securely
latched in the bu ck le .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious personal inj ury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
Safety bel ts
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion ¢
A in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 134.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle has stopped.
.,
JJ
Fig. 150 Releasi ng t he to ngue from the buckle
.,. Push the red re lease but ton on the buck le
r:!) fig. 150 . The belt tongue w ill spr ing out of
t he buck le
c:> ,& .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retra ctor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed posit ion.
& WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt whi le the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
i ng 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 fi tted to the shoulder area, according to
body size .
Fig. 1 51 Safety belt height a dju stm ent fo r th e fro nt seat s
0 .... N 0
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... 0 0
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6 ... co
-loop -a round fittings Ill>
135

Safety belts
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
c::> A in Safety belt position on
page 134.
"' Push
the loop -around fittings up c::> fig. 151 @ ,
or
"'squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings down@.
"'Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­ er important informat ion
c::> page 132.
(D Tips
With the front seats, the height adjustment of the seat can also be used to adjust the po­
sition of the safety belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety belts and will even inc rease the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Improper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of serious injury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating pos i­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
veh icle occupants and especially for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle while traveling
c>_& .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
136
- Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c::> page 132.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity, safety belts ore tensioned au­ tomatically.
The safety belts are equipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, side and rear-end collisions of great se­
verity . This t igh tens the belt and takes up belt
s lack
c::> & in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 137.
Tak ing up the s lack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur­
ing a collis ion.
(D Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward .
@ Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once.
- Th e safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear-end colli­
sions.
- 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
wh ich side of the vehicle the crash occurs.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti­
vated, 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 components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop is familiar
with these regulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you. .,_

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... -Be sure to observe all safety, environmental
and other regulations if the vehicle or indi­
v idual parts of the system, particularly the
safety be lt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have your author ized Audi
dealer perform this serv ice for you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety belt pretens ione rs are parts of the
safety be lts on yo ur Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from work ing correctly in a collision .
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or poll ute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repa ir proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety be lt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating i t unexpectedly:
- The be lt pretensione r system can be act ivat­
ed only once.
If belt pretensione rs have
been ac tiva ted, the system must be re­
placed.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the s afety be lt system.
- Safe ty bel t systems in cl ud ing safe ty belt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Specia l
procedu res are req uired for removal, insta l­
lat ion and disposa l of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au ­
thorized Audi dea ler o r qualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
train ing and special equipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -special handling may apply, see
www.dtsc.ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
S afet y be lts
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modu les safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regu lations must be ob­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.
137

..... N
0 ::..:: co ..... ..... also not inflate in side or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
A lwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The airbag system works most effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
r:::;,page 130.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in­
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, inves ti­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- If you are unrest rained, leaning forward, s it­
ting s ideways or out of position in any way,
your risk of in jury is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
cou ld even be killed if you are up against the
airbag or too close to it when it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
- To reduce the risk of in jury when an airbag
inflates, a lways wear safety belts p roperly
i=> page 133, Safety belts .
-Always make certain that ch ild ren age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil­ dren are not properly restra ined, they may
be severe ly injured o r kill ed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let children ride unrestrained or im­ prope rly restrained in the veh icle. Adjust the
fro nt sea ts properly .
-
Airb ag sys tem
-Never ride with the back rest recl ined.
-Always sit as fa r as possible from the steer-
ing wheel o r the instrument panel
r:::;,page 122.
-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 help pre­
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to transpo rt objects. Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air­
bag during braking or in a sudden maneu­
ver. Objects nea r the airbags can become
p roje ct il es and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags tha t h ave deployed in a cr ash m ust be
r e p laced.
- Use o nly orig inal equipment airbags ap ­
p roved by A udi a nd insta lled by a trained
technici an who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assu re system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be sure to read the important i nformat ion and
head the WARNINGS for important deta ils
about ch ildren and Advanced A irbags
r:::;, page 158.
Even though your veh icle is equipped wit h an Ad ­
vanced Airbag System, make certa in that a ll chil­
dre n, espec ia lly those 1 2 yea rs and yo unger, al­
ways r ide in the back se at prope rly res train ed fo r
their age and size. The ai rbag on t he p asse nger
s ide makes t he fron t seat a potentia lly dange rous
place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
sa fest p lace for a child in a forward-facing child .,.
139