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Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always :
""Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly 9page
113,
""Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
9page 55,
.,. Wear safety belts properly 9 page 123,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
9 page 151.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup
plemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper
ly . Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all times .
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental pro tection
in certain frontal collisions
o page 113, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
o page 55.
It 's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
9page 151.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, special modifications to
your vehicle may be n ecessary.
Contact your authorized Audi dealer, or call Audi
Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags , break open the padded cov
ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im
mediately after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The triggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a result of the collision . Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
It is not possible to define a range of vehicle
speeds that will cover every possible kind and an
gle of impact that will always trigger the airbags ,
since the circumstances will vary considerably be
tween one collision and another. Important fac
tors include, for example, the nature (hard or soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will
IIJJ,
129

Airbag syste m
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be cause of exceptional circumstances and the
P ASS ENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immed iate ly install
the rear-fac ing ch ild safety seat in a rear
seat ing pos ition and have the airbag system
inspected by your authorized Audi dea ler.
- Forward-facing ch ild safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious personal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing chi ld restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side a irbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or very near the instrument pan
el.
-Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat 's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restra int. The bac krest
mus t be adjusted to an up right posit ion.
- Make s ure that the
PASSENGER AI R BAG
OFF
light comes on and s tays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of serio us in jury, make s ure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light wi ll
be displayed whenever a child restraint is in
stalled on the front passenger seat and the
ign ition is switched on.
132
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OF F light does
not stay on, perform the checks described
¢ page 139, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
-Take the child restra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
PA SSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iately .
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restraint manufacturers when instal
ling child restra ints.
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward or rearward-fac ing child re
stra int on the fron t passenger's seat:
- Improper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from provid ing any pro tect ion.
- An improperly installed child res tra int can
inter fere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even kil l the child -eve n
w ith an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safe ty
seat o r carrier.
- Never p lace add ition al items on the seat
that can increase the tota l weight registered
by the weight -sensing mat and can cause in
jury in a crash .

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ly seated on the center of the seat cushion with
his or her back up against the backrest and the
backrest is not reclined
9page 113, Correc t
passenger seating positions,
- the adult is not taking weight off the seat by
holding on to the passenger assis t handle
above the front passenger door or suppor ting
their weight on the armrest,
- the safety bel t is being properly worn and that
there is not a lot of slack in the safety belt web
bing,
- accessory seat covers or cushions or other
things that may cause an incorrect reading or
impression on the weight-sensing mat under
the upholstery of the seat have been removed
from the front passenger seat,
- a safety belt extender has not been left in the
safety belt latch for the front passenger seat.
In addition to the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light in the center of the instrument panel, the
message
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF or PASSEN
GER AIR BAG ON
will briefly appear in the instru
ment cluster display . This is to inform the driver
of the current front passenger airbag status.
Important safety instructions on
monitoring the Advanced Airbag System
A WARNING
An airbag system that is not functioning prop erly cannot provide supplemental protection
in a frontal crash .
- If the airbag indicator light
9 page 19
comes when the vehicle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Audi dealer. It is possible that
the airbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restraint, in a rearward-facing child safe
ty seat or in a forward-facing child restraint
that has not been properly installed will be
seriously injured and can be killed.
Airbag system
-Even though your vehicle is equipped with
an Advanced Airbag System, make certain
that all children, especially 12 years and
younger, always ride on the back seat prop erly restrained for their age and size .
- Always install forward or rear-facing child
safety seats on the rear seat -even with an
Advanced Airbag System .
- If you must install a rearward-facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
appear and stay on, immediately install the
rear-facing child safety seat in a rear seating
position and have the airbag system in
spected by your authorized Audi dealer.
-A tight tether or other strap on a rearward
facing child restraint attached to the front passenger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-sensing mat in the seat and
register more weight than is actually on the
seat . The heavier weight registered can
make the system work as though an adult
were on the seat and deploy the Advanced
Airbag when it must be suppressed causing
serious or even fatal injury to the child.
- If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost position in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
-- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps
described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the rear seating positions.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat .
141

Child safety
exceptional circumstances and the PASSEN·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on
and stay on, immediately install the rear
ward-facing child safety seat in a rear seat
ing position and have the airbag system in
spected immediately by your authorized
Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
carrier.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible before installing the child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to
an upright position.
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
(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.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Advanced
Airbag System" in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the "low-risk" require
ments for 3- and 6-year old children on the pas
senger side and small adults on the driver side.
152 The low risk deployment criteria are intended
to
reduce the risk of injury through interaction with
the airbag that can occur, for example, by being
too close to the steering wheel and instrument
panel when the airbag inflates. In addition, the
system has been certified to comply with the "suppression" requirements of the Safety Stand
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up to
12 months who are restrained on the front pas
senger seat in child restraints that are listed in
the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag system, all children, especially
those 12 years and younger, should always ride
in the back seat properly 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 safety seat. It can be a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
· Advanced Airbags and the weight -sensing
mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle de
tects the presence of an infant or child in a child
restraint on the front passenger seat using the
weight-sensing mat in the seat cushion and the
sensor below the safety belt latch on the front
passenger seat that measures the tension on the
safety belt .
The weight-sensing mat measures total weight of the child and the child safety seat and a child
blanket on the front passenger seat. The weight
on the front passenger seat is related to the de
sign of the child restraint and its ' 'footprint", the
size and shape of the bottom of the child re- straint as it sits on the seat. The weight of a child
restraint and its "footprint" vary for different
kinds of child restraints and for the different
models of the same kind of child restraint of-
fered by child restraint manufacturers.
The weight ranges for the individual types,
makes and models of child restraints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard to
gether with the weight ranges of typical infants .,.

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0 I-co ....
that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush
ion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side. Audi does not recom
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro
vide adequate contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requ irements per
taining to the installation and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in
structions p rovided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using.
- Never allow ch ildren under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a no rmal safety belt.
T hey must always be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
cou ld sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu
vers or acc idents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger.
- H old ing a chi ld in your arms is neve r a sub
stit ute for a child restra int system.
- The strongest pe rson could not hold the
child w ith the forces that ex ist in an acci
dent. The chi ld w ill strike the interior of
the vehicle and can a lso be struck by the
passenger .
- The ch ild and the passenger can also in
jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front passen
ger seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safe
ty seat or infant car rier with g reat fo rce
and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the back rest, center arm
rest, door or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child safety
seats or in fant carr iers on the rear seat .
Child safety
-Forward-facing child safety seats insta lled
on the front passenger 's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. Always install for
ward-facing ch ild safety seats on the rear
seat.
- If exceptional c ircumstances requ ire the use
of a fo rward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the ch ild's safety
and well-being requ ire that the following
specia l preca utions be ta ken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instruct ions provided with the ch ild safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost posit ion of the passenger
seat's fo re and aft adjustment range, and
as fa r away from the ai rbag as possib le be
fore ins tall ing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing p revents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the re a rmos t position in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
- Always make sure that the backrest is in
the up right posit ion.
- Always buckle the child safety seat fi rm ly in
p lace even if a ch ild is not si tting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around dur ing
a sudden stop or in a co llision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 121, Safety belts,
¢ page 129, Airbag system and
¢ page 151, 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
stra int is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ign it ion is switched on .
~
155

Child safety
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years 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 certi
fied for their size and weight¢
fig. 143 and
¢fig. 144 .
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 pl ace for a
child in a forward-facing child safety seat . It is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat.
.8, WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth
er emergency situation.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat .
-If you must install a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be
cause of exceptional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on and stay on, immediately install
the rearward-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust or re
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif-
158
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢page 58. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed . Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
¢page 121, Safety belts,
¢page 129, Airbag system
and
¢ page 151, Important information.
.8, WARNING
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 that the following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
-Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant 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 before
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 ad
justment range .
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position .
- 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 light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 139, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- 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

Child safet y
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restra int. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion.
- Make sure that the
PASSEN GER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A ch ild in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier wi th great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat a nd child
against the backrest, cen ter armrest, door
or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must in
sta ll a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir
cumstances .
- A tight tether strap on a rearward-fac ing
child restraint attached to the front passen
ger seat can put too much pressu re on the
weight-mat in the seat and register a heavi er we ight in the Advanced Airbag System.
The heav ier we ight registered can make the
system work as though an adult were on the
seat and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it m ust be s uppressed causi ng serio us or
even fatal injury to the child.
- Make s ure 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 , immediately in
sta ll the rearward-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating position and have the a irbag
system inspected by your authorized Audi
dealer .
162
· Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's
i nstruct ions when installing a child restra int in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all th e w ay out .
.. Route it around or through the child restra int
be lt path
~ ,&. .
.. Push the ch ild safety sea t down wi th yo ur full
weigh t to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the be lt tong ue into the b uck le for that
seating position .
.. Guide the safety be lt back into the retracto r un
til the belt lies flat and sn ug on the ch ild safety
seat.
.. You should hear a "cl icking" noise as the belt
w inds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vert ible lock ing retractor by pull ing on the belt.
You shou ld no lo nge r be able to pull the belt
out of the retracto r. T he convertib le locking re
tractor is now activa ted.
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the chi ld restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly t ight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or s ideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong ch ild restraint or an improp
e rly installed child restra int can ca use serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt re
tr actor is locked when installing a ch ild
safety seat . An unlocked safety be lt retrac
tor cannot hold the ch ild safety seat in place
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a chi ld is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.

Intelligent Technology
according to t he needs of the individua l compo
nents. It regu lates consumption , so that more
e lectr ical energy is not being used than is being
generated and ensures an optimal state of
charge for the battery.
(D Tips
- But even energy management cannot neg
ate the limits of physics . Cons ider that the
power and life of a battery are limited.
- If starting ability is threatened, the indica
tor light (•) appears ¢
page 16.
What you should know
The highest priority is given to maintaining start
ing capability.
The batte ry is severely taxed in short-distance
driving, in c ity traffic and d uring the co ld time of
year. Abundant electrical energy is req uired, but
only a little is generated . It is also c rit ica l if the
engine is not runn ing and electrical components
are turned on . In this instance energy is be ing
consumed but none is be ing generated .
It is in precisely t hese situations that you will no
tice energy management active ly regulat ing the
d istr ibut ion of energy .
Vehicle stands fo r an e xtended period
If you do not drive your vehicle over a period of
several days or weeks, electrical components are
gradually cut back or sw itched off. T his reduces
energy consumption and ma inta ins starting ca
pab ility over a longer period . Some of the con
ve nience funct ions may not ope rate, such as the
i n terio r lights or the powe r seat adjustment. The
conven ience f unc tions w ill be available again
when yo u switch on the ign it io n and s tart the en
g ine.
With the engine turned off
I f you listen to t he radio, fo r example , with the
engine tu rned off o r use other MMI functions,
the batte ry is being discharged.
If start ing capabili ty is jeopardized due to energy
consumpt ion, a message appears in t he M MI dis
p lay. The message indicates that the system wi ll
176 b
e switched off a utomat ica lly in a moment . If
you wish to continue using the functions, you have to sta rt the eng ine.
With the engine running
Althoug h elec trica l energy is gene rated w hen t he
vehicle is bei ng drive n, the batte ry can become
discharged. This happens mostly when little en
ergy is being generated and a great dea l con
s u med and the battery 's state of charge is not
optimal.
To bring the energy balance back into equilibri
u m, consumers whic h require espec ia lly large
amounts of energy are temporar ily cut back or
switched off. Heating systems in particular re
quire a great dea l of energy. If you notice, for ex
ample, that the heated seats* o r the heated rear
window are not heati ng, they have bee n tempo
r arily cut back o r switched off . These systems will
be available again as soon as the ene rgy balance
has been res tored.
You w ill also no tice that eng ine idle speed has
been increased slig htly . T his is no rma l and not a
ca use for concer n. By in cr easi ng engine idle
speed t he ad ditional energy required is gene rat
ed and the battery is charged.