~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times.
F or detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
¢ page 54.
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re
duce 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 breastbone
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 out
side of the steering wheel rim with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never hold the steer ing wheel at the
12 o'clock posit ion or with your hands at
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver 's airbag inflates.
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen
tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained.
- For adjustable head restraints: before driv
ing, always also adjust the head restraints
properly .
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
-
Driving safety
-Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted 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 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 in
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the fol lowing position:
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
~ For adjustable 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 . Move the head restraint 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 137.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see
¢ page 53 .
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbe lted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po
sition and never lean against or place any pa rt of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located. ..,.
127
-Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the pedal
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning.
- Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving . Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus ing a loss of veh icle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly
stowed and secured in the luggage compart
ment.
L oose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac
teristics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma
neuver or in a collision.
.. Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com
partment.
.. Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as far forward as
possible.
.,. Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
¢ page 64, Luggage compartment .
.,. Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle causing serious per
sonal injury in the event of hard braking 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 compart
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com
partment using the tie-down hooks and
suitable straps.
Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles. To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control lead ing to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center 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 Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and handle differently.
- Please observe information on safe driving
¢page 125.
A 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
f itting completely into the luggage area be
cause 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 power roof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows , the power roof* and the rear lid are se
curely closed and locked to reduce the r isk of
in jury when the vehicle is not being used.
- After closing the rear lid, always make sure
-
that it is properly closed and locked. ~
131
.... N
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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
.... N
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manufacturer's instructions require the use
of a towel, foam cushion or someth ing else
to properly pos ition the child restraint,
make certain that the
PA SS EN GE R A IR B AG
OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever
the ch ild restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately in
stall child res traint in a rear seating position
and have the airbag system inspected by
your Audi dealer .
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im
mediately .
-If liqu id soaks into the fron t passenger seat,
this can keep the airbag system from work
ing properly and may, for instance, deacti
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this
happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on together with
the a irbag indicator light
II (USA models)/
E,I (Canada models) in the instrument clus
ter .
- If liquid is pooled on the seat, but has not soaked in, this may also keep the a irbag sys
tem from working properly and ca use the
pa ssenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(t ur ned on), even t hough the re is a properly
installed child restraint system on the seat.
Wet towe ls or other wet things o n the seat
cushion can have the same effect. If the
front passenger frontal airbag is t urned on,
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light light
will go out .
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced Airbag System and the side
airbags s upplemen t the protection offered by the
front three-point safety bel ts with pretensioners
and load limiters and the adjustable head re
straints * to help reduce the risk of injury in a
wide range of accident and crash situations. Be
sure to read the important information about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter.
Airb ag sys tem
Deployment of the Adv a need Airbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de
pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the electronic control
unit. Crash severity depends on speed and decel
eration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object involved in the crash .
On the passenger side, regard less of safety belt
use, the front passenger frontal airbag will be
turned off if the e lectr ica l capacitance measured
by the capacitive passenger detect ion system on
the front passenger seat is less than the amount
programmed in the electron ic contro l unit. The
front passenge r frontal a irbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capaci tance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the chi ld seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 . The
P ASS ENGER AIR BA G OFF light comes
on and stays o n to tell you when the front Ad
vanced Airbag System on the passenger side has been t urned off
c::> page 154 .
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in
flates, always wear safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un restra ined, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or ou t of position in a ny way ,
your r isk of injury is much higher .
- You will a lso receive ser ious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up against the
a ir bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag
c::> page 142.
More important things to know about front
airbags
Fig . 158 Inflated front airbags
151
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the U.S. Safety Standard
¢ page 168.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light must come
on and stay on if the ignition is on and .. .
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, or
- a rearward- facing child restraint has been in
sta lled on the front passenger seat, or
- a forward-facing child restra int has been instal
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectr ica l capacitance reg istered on
the front passenger seat is equal to or less than
the combined capacitance of a typical 1 year
old infant and one of the rearward-facing or
forward-facing chi ld restraints listed in Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 w ith which
the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle was
certified.
If the front passenger seat is not occupied, the
front a irbag w ill not deploy, and the P A SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will stay on. Never install a
rearward -fac ing ch ild restraint on the front pas
senger seat, the safest place for a child in any
kind of child rest ra int is at one of the seat ing po
sitions on the rea r seat
¢ page 143, Child re
straints on the front seat -some important
things to know
and ~ page 166, Child safety .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light comes
on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t comes on
when one of the condit ions listed above is met,
be sure to check the light regularly to make cer
tain that the
PAS SENGER AIR BA G OFF lig ht
stays on cont inuous ly whenever the ign ition is
on. If the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not appear on and does not stay on all the time,
stop as soon as it is safe to do so and
- reactivate the system by turning the ign ition
off for more than 4 seconds and then turning it
on again;
- remove and reinstall the child restra int. Make
sure that the child restraint is properly instal-
Airb ag sys tem
led and that the safety belt for the front pas
senger seat has been correct ly routed through
the child restraint as described in the c hil d re
straint manufacturer's instruct ions;
- make sure that the convertible locking retrac
tor on the safety belt for the front passenger
seat has been activated and that the safety belt
has been pulled tight.
- make sure that no e lectr ica l device (such as a
laptop, CD player, e lectron ic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for ch ild seats) is
placed or used on the fro nt passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
t he c igarette ligh ter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been ret ro
fitted o r othe rw ise added to the front passen
ge r seat;
- make sure that not hing can inte rfere wi th the
safety belt buckles and t hat they are not ob
s t ructed;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no wa ter or other liquids on
t he front p assenge r seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG light still does
not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light still does
not come on and does no t stay on continuously
(when the ignition is switched on),
- take the child restra int off the front passenge r
seat and insta ll it properly at o ne of the rear
seat pos itions. Have the airbag system i nspect
ed by yo ur Audi dealer immed iately .
- move the child to a rear seat pos ition and ma ke
sure that the chi ld is p roperly rest rained in a
child restra int that is app ropr iate for its s ize
and age .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG light should NOT
come on ...
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light should NOT
come on when the ignition is on and an adu lt is
sitting in a prope r seating position on the front
passenger seat. If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on or flashes for about
5 seconds while dr iv ing, under these circumstan-
ces, make sure that :
Ill-
155
exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system
inspected immediately by your Audi dealer .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the airbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat , the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward -facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor
age to the adjustment position that per
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing the
child restraint. The backrest must be ad
justed to an upright position .
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
Child safety
-Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats) . These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measured by the capaci
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on
all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immediate
ly install the forward-facing child seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- Always buckle the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child seat can fly around during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restraint in a vehi
cle
r=;, page 134, Safety belts, r=;, page 142,
Airbag system
and ¢ page 166, Impor
tant informat ion .
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle during a crash. Damage to
a child restraint that is not visible could cause it to fail in another collision situation.
167
.... N
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-Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possible be
fore installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is in the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measured by the capaci
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 134, Safety belts,
Child safety
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child safety.
A WARNING
-
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on .
- Take the child restraint off the front passen ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
:8
. ,. -,. i
--- CJ
Fig. 166 Sc hematic overview: keep unused safety be lts
away from ch ild ren in c hild safety seats.@· outer rear
safety belt,®· center rear safety belt*
~
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower anchorag
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them ¢_& .
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and
@* be
hind the head restraint of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
¢ fig. 166 . When do
ing so, do not engage the convertible locking
retractor! You should not hear a "clicking"
sound when winding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
171
.... N
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the rear-facing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seating posit ion and have the airbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the dev ice is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenge r seat,
never i nstall any ch ild rest raint system on
this se at.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(s uch as a wet towel) and no water or o ther
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, elec tronic games dev ice,
power inverter or seat hea ter for child
seats) . These may influence the e lectr ica l
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restra ined in a veh icle is
being used
c:::> page 134, Safety belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
c:> page 166, Important information .
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safe ty sea ts can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
F ig. 16 8 Schematic overv iew: i nsta llat io n of t he a ttac h
m ents app lica ble to a LA TCH sea t
Child sa fety
Fig. 169 Sc hemat ic overv iew : in sta llat ion of t he seat usin g
t he ve hicl e's sa fety be lt syst em
"' When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
c:> page 176 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
"' Push the ch ild safety sea t down with yo ur full
weight to ge t the safety belt really tight so that
t he seat can not move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) ¢
page 176 .
"'If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether ancho rs
c:> page 182.
"'Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:> page 171.
A toddler o r child is usua lly too large for an in
fan t restraint if it is more th an one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Todd lers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 yea rs old and weigh more than
20 lbs (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be
properly restrained in a child safety seat certified
for their size and we ight
c:::> fig . 168 and
c:> fig . 169.
The airbag on the passenger side m akes the front
seat a potent ially dangerous place for a child to
ride . T he front seat is not the safest place for a
child in a forward-fac ing ch ild safety seat. It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger c hi ld in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
No t using a child sa fe ty seat, using t he wrong
child safety sea t or improperly insta lling a
child restraint increases the risk of ser ious
~
173