
Driving safety
-Passengers who are unbelted , out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between the front pas
senger 's breastbone and the instrument
panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least
4 inches (10 cm) between the front passen ger's knees and the lower part of the instru
ment panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
- Before dr iving, always adjust the front pas
senger seat properly .
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in
strument pane l, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety be lt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in
crease the risk of injury in a crash .
- Never dr ive with the backrest reclined or
ti lted far back! The farther the backrests are
ti lted back , the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
<='> page 166. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
<='> page 142.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve
hicle is in use.
To reduce the r isk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, you r passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow
ing:
128
.,. For adjustab le head restraints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
<='> page 128.
.,. Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
.,. Fasten and wear safety belts properly
<='> page 137.
.,. Make sure that children are a lways properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
c:::> page 166.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi
tioned on the body and securely latched . By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger in
creases the risk of personal injury from im
properly positioned safety belts!
- For adjustable head restraints: always ad
just the head restraint properly so that it
can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Applies to vehicles: with adjustable head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints ore an impor
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
Fig. 144 Head restraint : viewed from t he front

The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection. .,. 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 ¢
fig. 144. Move the head restraint so
that it is as close to the back of the head as
possible.
... If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing posit ion, slide the center head restraint up
ward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
c> page 56.
_& WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints .
Dr iving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in
creases the risk of serious or fatal neck injury
dramatically. To help reduce the risk of injury:
- Always dr ive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra int 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
restraint so that it is as close to this position
as possib le. Move the head restraint so that
it is as close to the back of the head as pos
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at
tempting to adjust the head restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
c> page 166 .
-
Driving safety
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in
jury or death . Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im
proper seat ing positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
... Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seating position when the vehicle is being used
c> .,& .
The following bulletins list only some sample po
sitions that will increase the risk of serious injury
and death . Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating positions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback recl ined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
129

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.
134
-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 front seat passenger (on USA models only)
to remind you about the importance of buckling
up .
Fig. 14S Safety be lt wa rning lig ht in the inst rument clu s
ter -en larged
Before driving off, alway s:
.. Fasten your sa fety belt and make sure you are
wearing it prope rly .
(0
"'
"' 9
"'
and proper ly wea r th eir safety belts .
.. Protec t ch ild ren w ith a c hild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is o n as a rem inder to
fasten the safety belts. In addition , you w ill hear
a war ning tone for a cert ain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
&_ WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means av ailable to re duc e the ris k of ser ious
in jur y and de ath in a utomo bile acciden ts.
F or your protection and that o f yo ur p assen
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving .
- Fa ilure to pay atte ntion to the wa rning light
that come on, cou ld lead to personal in jury.

Safe ty belts
Never rely o n airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are a lways there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready dep loyed. Unbel ted occupants can
a lso be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass enge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he rea r seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 149. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
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!
F ig . 1 50 Driver is correctly restrai ned in a sudde n braking
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont rolled moveme nt that can cause seri
ous injur ies. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the veh icle .
136
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car an d give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tole rab le" and less likely to cause inj ury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes.
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just going to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t stat ist ics show that veh i
cl e o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l
li sions, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceleration throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .

.... N
0 CJ '
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
corre ctly -throughout the pregnan cy.
F ig. 153 Safety belt pos itio n dur ing pregnancy
To provide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear
er 's body
¢ page 138.
.. Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re
straint* correctly
r:::;, page 53, General informa
tion .
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelv is
r:::;, fig . 153, r:::;, &_ .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rect b uckle of
yo ur seat until you hea r it latch secure ly
r:=:>poge 137, fig . 151.
.,. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is secu rely
latched in the buckle .
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mot hers 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 .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢ A in Fasten
ing safety belts on page 138.
Safet y bel ts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle hos stopped .
J-L
Fig . 1 54 Releasing t he tongue from the buckle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r:::;, fig . 154. The belt tongue w ill spring out of
the buck ler:::;, &_.
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
_& WARNING
-Never unfasten safety belt wh ile 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 strop routing
con be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
F ig . 1 55 Safety belt height adj ust m ent fo r th e fro nt seats
- loop -arou nd f itt ings
0 ..... N
0
:i:
"' CD
The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the co ll ar bone as possible and shou ld fit well
o n the body
¢ &. in Safe ty belt position on
page 138. .,,.
139

Safety belt s
"'Push the loop -around fittings up c> fig . 155 @,
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 impo rtant informat ion
c> page 136.
(D Tips
With the front seats , the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po
sition of the safe ty belts.
Improperly worn safety belts
Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts imprope rly can cause seri
ous injury or death. Safety belts can only work
when they a re correctly pos itioned on the body.
Imp roper seating positions reduce the effect ive
ness of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury a nd deat h by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the bo dy. Imp roper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and deat h when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the co rrect seat ing pos i
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
ve hicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
"' Never permit anyone to assume an inco rrect
s itting position in the vehicle wh ile trave ling
c> ,&. .
A WARNING
Impro perly wor n safety belts increase t he risk
of se rious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is bei ng use d.
- Always make sure tha t all veh icle occupa nts
are co rrectly restra ined and stay in a co rrect
seat ing pos ition w heneve r the veh icle is be
ing used.
140
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS and
o ther impo rtant in format ion
c> page 136.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts are tensioned automatically.
Reversible safety belt tensioner s
The safety belts on the front seats are equipped
with power revers ible tensioners. The following
funct io ns are available when the dr iver's/front
passenger 's safety belts are faste ned:
- Automatic tensione rs: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to the
passenger after a certain time period or ve hicle
spee d. To switch the a utomat ic tens ioners off,
select the following in t he M MI :
!CARI function
button
> ( Car )* systems > Vehicle settings >
Seat s > Driver's seat or Pas senger's seat > Au ·
tomatic belt tensioner > Off .
-In certain drivi ng s ituations, the s afe ty bel ts
m ay tighten w ith a reversib le tensioning func
tion
c> page 184.
- The s afety be lts may also tigh ten with this re-
vers ible tension ing f unct io n in m ino r collisions .
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are eq uipped w it h safety bel t
pretensione rs. The system is activa ted by se nsors
i n front, s ide a nd r ear-end collisions of grea t se
verity and in a ro llover. This tig htens the bel t and
takes up belt slack
c> &. in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 141.
Taking up
the slack helps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
A WARNING
-It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrectly .
- The pyrotechnic system can only p rovide
protection for one collision. If the py rotech
nic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
sys tem must be rep laced.

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 vehicle 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 134.
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.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by stri king
the inte rior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle d uring a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
-If you are unrest rained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is mu ch h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up ag ainst the
airbag or too close to it w hen it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Ai rbag.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear sa fety belts prope rly
r:::;, page 137, Safety belts.
-Always make certain that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let children r ide unrestrained or im
p roperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r:::;, page 126.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he 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 recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects , Items can also mo ve in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
b ag d uring braking o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Obje cts ne ar the airbags can be come
p roject iles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
A WARNING ,.___ -
Airbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by A udi and installed by a t rained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash .
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtan t in format ion and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
143

Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 166 .
Even tho ugh your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chi l
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways ride in the back seat proper ly restrained for
their age and size. The airbag on the passenger
side makes the front seat a potentially dangerous place for a child to ride. The front seat is not the
safest place for a child in a forward-facing child
seat . It ca n be a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a c hild in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le at the time your vehicle was man ufa ct ur ed.
According to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about 12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
ployment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PAS SENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic control unit.
Each time you switch on the ignition, the
PAS
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas
ured by the capacitive passenger detection sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 with which the Advanced Airbag System in
you r vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the
ch ild rest raints that we re used to certify yo ur
vehicle's compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 168 .
144 - wi
ll stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chi ld re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- wi ll go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detectio n system ~
page 153, Mon
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when electrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restraints listed in Federal Motor Ve hicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
ce rt ified.
If the total electr ical capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 year-old chi ld but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does not come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger side
has not been turned off by the electron ic con trol
u nit and can dep loy if the con trol uni t senses an
impact t hat meets the conditions stored in its
memo ry.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y depl oy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of the
child seats listed ¢
page 168), or
- a child who has outgrown ch ild restraints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger airbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" dep loyment criteria to reduce the r isk of in
ju ry through interaction w ith the airbag . "Low
r isk" dep loyment occurs in those crashes that
take place at lower decelerations as defined in
the e lectronic contro l unit ¢
page 154, PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
ll-