2017 AUDI A5 CABRIOLET ESP

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Driving safety
Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar­
ized here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us
priority number 1. Al­
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea­
tures described in this sections may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in­
structions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in­
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera­
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the driver and passengers.
-Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques­
tions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re­
straint system and work together to help reduce the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit­
uations.
Your safety and the safety of your passengers
should not be left to chance. Advances in tech­
nology have made a variety of features available
to help reduce the risk of injury in an accident.
Driving safety
The following is a list of just a few of the safety
features in your Audi:
- sophisticated safety belts for driver and all pas-
senger seating positions,
- belt force limiters for the front seats,
- belt pretensioners for the seats,
- head restraints for each seating position,
- front airbags,
- side airbags in the front seats,
- special LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- adjustable steering column.
These individual safety features, can work to­ gether as a system to help protect you and your
passengers in a wide range of accidents. These
features cannot work as a system if they are not
always correctly adjusted and correctly used.
Safety is everybody's responsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care­
f1,1/ driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passen­
gers,
before driving always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and signals are operat­
ing correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.,. Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside.
.,. Secure all luggage and other items carefully
qpage 62.
.,. Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
.,. Adjust front seat, head restraint and mirrors
correctly for your height .
.,. Instruct passengers to adjust the head re­
straints according to their height.
.,. Make sure to use the right child restraint cor­
rectly to protect children
¢ page 150, Child
safety.
.,. Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passengers do the same
q page 57, Seats
and storage.
Ill>
111

Driving safety
• Fasten your safety be lt and wear it properly . Al­
so instruct your passengers to fasten their
safety be lts properly ¢
page 122.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver 's abili­
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis ­
tracted .
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve­
h icle and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
veh icle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road ¢.&, .Therefore :
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a cellular telephone .
• NEVER drive when your driving ability is im­
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.) .
• Observe all traff ic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense .
• AL WAYS ad just you r speed to road, traffic and
weathe r cond itions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not d rive
for more than two ho urs at a stretch .
• Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres ­
s u re or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal injury and death whe never a
vehicle is being used .
112
.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving.
Fig. 128 Co rrect seat ing pos it ion
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in­
jury in the event of an acc ident, we recommend
that you adjust the drive r's seat to the following
pos ition:
• Ad just the driver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent¢.&, .
• Ad just the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contac t with it when you dr ive.
• Ad just the steer ing wheel so that t here is a d is­
t ance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steer ing whee l and your breast bone ¢
fig. 128.
If not possible, see your authorized A udi dealer
about adaptive equipment.
• Ad just the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at yo ur face .
• Grasp the top of the steer ing wheel with your
elbow(s) sligh tly bent.
• App lies to veh icles with adjustable hea d re­
s trai nts: Adjus t 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 ad just the
head restraint so that it is as close to this pos i­
tion as possible .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢ page 125.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at a ll times .

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-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 this 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 restra int.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a child restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
q page 150.
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 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
q& -
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
Driving safety
- 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 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
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
-Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a proper seating posit ion and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
being used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to: vehicles with knee airbags
A WARNING
--=
Always make sure that the knee airbag can in-
flate without interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the airbag deploys or by being pushed in­
to you as the airbag deploys .
- No persons (children) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the airbag deploys, this can result in
serious or fatal injur ies.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or passenger's seat. Bulky objects (shopping
bags, for example) can hamper or prevent
proper deployment of the airbag. Small ob­
jects can be thrown through the vehicle if
115

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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 . 130 .
~ Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
i=>page 64 .
~ 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 contro l 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 .
Driving safety
-Please observe information on safe driving
i=> page 111.
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 power top,
- Open all a ir 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 top and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk 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.
- 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 a l­
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.
117

Driving sa fe ty
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
l oad . The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure labe l. The tire pressure label is lo­
cated on the driver's s ide B-pillar. The tire
pressure labe l lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
max imum capacity weight and the t ires t hat
were on your vehicle at the t ime it was man­
ufa ctu red. Fo r recommended tire p ressures
fo r no rmal load cond itions, please see chap­
te r
~ page 217 .
Tie-downs
Appl ies to: ve hicles w ith tie-dow ns
The Luggage compartment is equipped with four
tie-downs to secure Luggage and other items.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo proper ly
~ page 116, Loading the luggage compartment.
In a collis io n, the laws of phys ics mean that even
smalle r items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in­
jury. Items in the ve hicle possess energy whi ch
vary wi th vehicle speed and t he weight of the
item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignifica nt facto r.
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces ac ting o n a 10-lb
( 4 . 5 kg) object are abo ut 20 times the no rma l
weight of the item. This means that t he 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 compartment could cause in a col­
lision l ike this .
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper s traps used to
secure i tems to tie-downs can fail d uring ha rd
brak ing o r in a col lision and cause se rious per­
sonal i nju ry.
- Always use suitab le mou nti ng straps and
prope rly secure items to the tie-downs in
t h e luggage compartmen t to help p revent
items from sh ifting or flying fo rwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles.
- When the rea r seat b ackrest is folde d down,
always use suitab le mounting str aps and
118
-
proper ly sec ure items to the tie-downs in
the l uggage compartment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous
m iss iles into the passenger compartment.
- Never attach a child safety seat tether strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
ha s a d efect which could cause a
crash or could cau se injur y or
death, you should immedi ate ly in­
form the Nat ional High way Traffic
Safet y Administration (NHT SA) in
addition t o notifyin g Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA re ce ives s imilar com­
pl aint s, it m ay ope n an in ve sti ga­
tion , and if it find s that a safety
defe cts ex is ts in a group of
v ehi cle s, i t m ay order a re call and
remed y campaign . H ow ev er ,
NHT SA cann ot become in vol ve d in
indi vidu al probl ems b etween you ,
y o ur deal er, o r Audi of Am erica ,
In c.
To contact the NHTSA, you may
either call:
T el. : 1-888- 327-4236 (TTY :
1-800-424 -9153) or
1 -800-424-9 393
or you may write to:

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r explains why safety be lts a re neces­
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and dea th .
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ilab le to reduce the risk of serious
injury and dea th in automob ile accidents .
For yo ur protect ion and that of your passe n­
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fety be lt s
when the veh icle is moving .
- Pregnant wom en, in ju re d, o r physically i m­
paired persons mus t also use s afety be lts.
L ik e all vehi cle o ccu pants, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injure d if th ey do no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. Each seat ing
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 s afety bel ts availab le.
122
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or ch ild restraint.
Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and (on USA models only) front seat passenger
to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 135 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e in st rument clu s­
ter -enl arged
Before driv ing off , alway s:
.. Fasten your sa fety belt and make sure you are
wearing it prope rly.
(0
"'
"' 0 N .. Make sure that your passengers a lso buc kle up
and proper ly wea r th eir safety belts .
.. Protec t your ch ildren with a ch ild rest raint sys­
tem app ropr iate for the size and age of the chil­
dren .
The . war ning light i n the instrument cluste r
l ights up when the ig nition is swi tched on as a re­
minde r to fas ten t he safety be lts. In addition,
yo u w ill hea r a wa rn ing tone for a ce rt ain per io d
of time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their safe­
ty belts.

Safe ty belts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red relea se
button only after the vehicle has stopped .


Fig. 145 Rele asing th e to ngu e fro m the buck le
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
Q fig. 145 . The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
Q ,& .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Doing so will increase your risk of be­
ing injured or k il led.
Improperly worn safety belts
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Incorrectly positioned safety belts can cause se­
vere injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly positioned on the body .
Imp roper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety belts and wi ll
even i ncrease the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions a lso increase the risk of se rio us inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating pos i­
tion . A
drive r is responsible fo r the safety of all
veh icle occupants and especially for children.
Therefore:
.. Never permit anyon e to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the vehicle whi le traveling
Q A .
128
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
are cor rectly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­ ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS a nd
other impo rtant informat ion
Q page 124 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular sev erity, saf ety belts are tensioned au­
tomatically .
The safety belts are eq uipped w ith safety belt
pretensioners. The system is activa ted by sensors
in front, side and rear -end collisions of great se­
verity. This tightens the be lt and takes up belt
s lack
Q .&. in Service and disposal of safety belt
pretensioner on page 129 .
Taking up the slack
helps to reduce forward occupant movement dur­
i ng a collis ion .
@ Note
Never let the belt remain over a rear seatback
that has been folded forward.
@ Tips
The sa fety belt pretensioner can only be acti­
vated once .
- The safety belt pretensioners do not deploy
in minor frontal, side and rear -end coll i­
sions.
- When the safety belt pretensioners are acti­
vated, a f ine dust is released. This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the veh icle.
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An authorized
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop is familiar
w ith these regu lations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to you. .,._

Airbag syste m
Airbag system
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
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 112,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 58,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 124 ,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children
¢ page 150.
In a coll is io n airbags must inflate wi thin the b link
of an eye and with cons iderable force . The sup­
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper·
Ly. T herefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as a pas­
senger to sit properly at all t imes .
By keeping room between your body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collisions
¢ page 112, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment con trols
¢ page 58.
It's especially important that children are proper ­
ly restra ined
¢ page 150 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
130 reaching the peda
ls, special modifications to
your vehicle may be necessary.
Contact yo ur aut ho rized Aud i dea le r, or call A udi
C u stomer Rela tions a t 1-800-822-2834.
When the airbag sys tem dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the a irbags, b reak open the padded cov­
e rs, and inflate betwee n the steering wheel and
the driver and between the inst rument pa nel and
the front passenger . The a irbags w ill deflate im­
mediate ly after dep loyment so t hat the front oc­
cupants can see th ro u gh the windsh ie ld again
without interruption.
A ll of th is takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even rea lize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it t he occupant's forward move­
ment . T ogether they he lp to prevent the driver
and front sea t passenger from h itti ng pa rts of
t h e i nside the veh icle w hile reducing the fo rces
acti ng on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of inju ry to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not infla te in all frontal
collisions . The trigge ring of the airbag system de ­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the coll is ion and registered by the electronic con­
tro l unit . If this rate is be low the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision. Vehi­
cle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack of vehi­
cl e damage is not ne cessari ly an indication of
whethe r an a irbag should infla te o r not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cove r every possible k ind and an­
gle of impa ct that will always tr igger the airbags ,
s in ce the circumst ances w ill vary cons iderably be ­
tween one collision and anot her. Important fac­
tors include, for examp le, the natu re (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, t he angle of
i mpact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will ..,_