
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraints 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 th is position
as possible.
- 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 restraint.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
qpoge 132.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore 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 seating 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 posit ions
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
seat ing pos ition when the vehicle is being used
¢ ,&. .
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 posit ions that
are dangerous.
Driving safety
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 reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never s it 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
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
-Always make sure that all vehicle occupants stay in a proper seating position and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mot or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in·
terference and that nothing prevents them from
returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav
el is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop .
A WARNING
-
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri·
ous injury. ""
99

Driving safety
-Never place any objects in the driver's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal area
and interfere with pedal function . In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the driver 's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mots that con be securely at
t ached to the floor mo t fas teners and do no t in
terfere with the free movement of the pedals .
• Make sure that the floor mats are properly se
cured and cannot move and interfere with the
pedals
c> _& .
Use only floor mats that leave th e pedal area un
obstructed and that are firmly secured so that
they cannot slip out of position. You can obtain
suitable floor mats from your authorized Audi
dealer .
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into posi
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury .
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop
erly secured .
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the ped
als or the ability to control the vehicle.
- 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 peda l
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning .
100
-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 vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly stowed and secured in the luggage comport
ment.
Fig. 109 Safe load positioning: place heavy ob jects as low
and as fa r forward as poss ib le.
Loose 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 low and as far for
ward as possible
c> fig. 109 .
• Secure luggage using the t ie-downs provided
c> poge 60.
• 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 eyelets and
suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle 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 center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- 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 95.
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
fitting 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 Pano ramic sliding sunroof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
Driving safety
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the Panoramic sliding sunroof* and the
rear lid are securely closed and locked to re
duce 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 espe
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug
gage compartment and close the rear lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
hicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce w indow fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. 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 label is lo
cated on the driver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capac ity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured. For recommended t ire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter ¢
page 201.
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 100, Loading the luggage compartment. ..,_
101

Driving sa fe ty
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
sma ller 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 factor .
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. (90 kg) item flying free ly through
the passenge r compartmen t could c ause in a co l
lision like this.
A 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 p revent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan
gerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help p revent
items from flying forwa rd as dangerous
missiles into the passenger compartment.
- Never a ttach a child safety seat tethe r strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u b eliev e that your vehi cle
h as a defect which could cause a
c ra sh or could cau se injur y or
d ea th, you should immedi ately in
form th e National Highw ay Tr affi c
Safet y Admini str ation (NHTSA ) in
102
ad dition t o notif yin g Audi of
Amer ic a, Inc .
If NHTSA re ce iv es similar com
pl aint s, it ma y op en an in vestiga
tion , and if it finds that a safety
defect s ex ists in a group of
vehicles, it m ay order a recall and
remedy campaign. Howe ver,
NHTS A cann ot b ecome in volved in
indi vidual probl em s bet ween you,
your dealer, or Audi of America,
Inc.
To conta ct th e NHT SA, you ma y
e ither call:
T el.: 1-888- 327-4236 (TT Y:
1-800-4 24-9 153) o r
1-800-424-9393
or you ma y write t o:
NHTSA
U .S. Dep art ment of Tran sp o rta
tion 1200 Ne w Jers ey Ave ., S. E.
W est Building
W ashington , DC 20590
You can also obtain other info r
mation about motor vehicle safe
ty from:
http: / /www. safer car.go v

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.
104
-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 to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig . 11 0 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e in st ru ment clu s·
ter · enl arged
Before driving off , always:
.. Fasten yo ur safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
.. Ma ke sure that your passengers also b uck le up
and properly wear t heir safety belts.
.. Protect your chi ldren with a ch ild restraint sys
tem app ropr iate for the size and age of the chil
dren .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is switched on as a re
minde r to fas ten the safety be lts . In addition,
you w ill hear a wa rn in g tone for a ce rtain per iod
of time .
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passenger s also properly put on their safe
ty belt s.
&_ WARNING -
- Safety bel ts are the sing le mos t eff ec tive
means available to re du ce the risk of serio us
in jur y and dea th in a utomobile accidents.
F or your protection and t hat of yo ur passen
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is movin g.

.... N
c:i ::J ex:, .... I.Cl U"I
N I.Cl ......
A 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 sticking 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 or qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au
thor ized 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~
table Internal
cleaning on page 170.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 116 Belt buckle and tongue on t he driver 's seat
To provide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper
ly¢
page SO, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion and securely latched in
p lace before using the belt¢ ,&. .
.. Ho ld the belt by the tongue and pu ll it evenly
across the chest and pelvis~,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat unti l you hear it latch securely
r:!)fig. 116 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle. ..,.
107

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 16.
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 141.
.&_ WARNING
Imprope rly pos itioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
¢page 108,
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
108
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
¢page 143.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 117 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,
- height-adjustab le front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious pe rsonal injury in an acc ident .
- 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. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across t he chest so that it s its as low as pos
sib le on the pe lvis and there is no p re ssure
on the a bdomen . The belt sho uld a lways f it
snug ly
c:;, fig. 117. Pull on the belt to tig hten
if necessary .
- The lap be lt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel
vis and never
over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c:;, fig. 117. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can ca use serious
injuries by sh ifting its position on your body ..,_

.... N
c:i ::J CX)
.... I.Cl U"I
N I.Cl ......
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 106.
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
correctly -throughout the pregnancy .
Fig. 11 8 Safety belt position d urin g pregnancy
To p rov ide max imum p rotection, safety belts
must always be posi tioned correctly on the wear
e r's body
c::> page 108 .
• Adjus t the front seat and head restra int cor
rec tly
c::> page 50, Front seats .
• Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in a n upright pos ition and secure ly latched in
place before using the belt.
• Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest and pelv is
c::> fig. 118, c::> ,&. .
• Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
c::> page 107, fig . 116 .
• Pul l on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
la tched i n the bu ck le.
_& WARNING ,..__
Improperly po sit ione d safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious persona l inj ury in an accident .
- E xpec tan t m others mus t always wear the
lap po rtion of the sa fe ty belt as low as pos
sible ac ross the pelvis and below the round
ing of the ab domen.
Safet y bel ts
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c::> A in Fasten
ing safety belts on page 108.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only o~er the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 1 19 Releasi ng the to ngue from t he buckle
.,. Push the red re lease but ton on the buck le
c::> fig. 119 . 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 position.
_& 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 routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size .
Fig. 1 20 Safety belt height a djustment for the front seats
... 0 0
0
6 ... a,
- loop -aro und fitt ings Ill>
109