Page 105 of 236

00
00
......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be able to protect you properly and can even in
crease the risk of injury in a crash.
- 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 safety
seats¢
page 137 . Special precaut ions ap
ply when installing a ch ild safety seat on the
front passenger seat ¢
page 117.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the ve hicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow
ing:
~ Make sure that the seatback is securely latched
in the upright position¢
page 49.
~ If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing position, slide the center head restraint up
ward at least to the next notch ¢
page 46.
~ Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat .
~ Fasten and wear safety belts properly
¢page 112.
~ Make sure that children are always properly re
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age ¢
page 13 7.
A WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
Driving safety
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the seatback is securely latched in the
upright position and the safety belts are properly positioned on the body . By not sit
ting upright, a rear seat passenger increases
the risk of personal injury from improperly
positioned safety belts!
- Always adjust the head restraint properly so
that it can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
Fig. 102 Head restraint: vi ew ed from t he front
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection.
~ 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 re
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible
¢ fig . 102.
~ If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing position, slide the center head restraint up
ward at least to the next notch .
Adjusting head restraints¢
page 45.
A WARNING
-All seats are equipped w ith head restraints.
Driving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in
creases the risk of serious or fata l neck injury
dramatically . To help reduce the risk of injury: ..,
103
Page 106 of 236

Driving sa fe ty
-Always drive with the head restraints i n
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restra int.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra ints so the upper edge is as
even as possib le w ith the top of your head.
If that is not possib le, try to adjust the head
restra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possib le.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint wh ile driving.
If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea
son, fi rst stop the vehicle safely before at
tempting to ad just the head restr aint.
- Children must always be p roperly restrained
in a chi ld restrain t th at is appropria te fo r
their age and si ze
~page 137.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
I mp roper seating positions can cause se rious in
ju ry or deat h. Safety belts can only wo rk when
they are p roperly posi tioned o n the body . Im
p roper seating posi tions reduce t he effe ct iveness
of sa fety belts and w ill even increase the r isk o f
in jury and death by moving the safety be lt to crit
ical areas of the body . Improper seating posit ions
also increase the risk of ser ious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the prope r seat ing position. A driver
is respo nsible for the safety of all vehicle occu
pants and especially fo r children. Therefo re:
~ Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos ition w hen the veh icle is being used
~ .&. -
The follow ing bulletins list only some sample po
sitions that will inc rease the risk of serious inju ry
and death. Ou r hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seat ing pos it io ns that
a re dangero us.
104
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is moving :
-neve r stand up in the vehicle
- neve r sta nd on the seats
- neve r kneel on the seats
- never ride w ith the seatback recl ined
- neve r lie down on the rear seat
- neve r lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- neve r sit sideways
- neve r lean out t he window
- neve r put your feet o ut the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- neve r 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
Imp roper seating positions inc rease the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death whenever
a veh icle is being used.
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
stay in a proper seating posit ion and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is be ing used .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must alway s be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any o ther object.
Mak e su re t hat all pedals move free ly w ithout in
te rfe rence and t hat nothing prevents them from
r etur ning to their orig inal positions.
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal a rea free
and can be secured wi th floor ma t faste ne rs.
If a brake circuit fails, i ncreased brake pedal trav
el is requ ired to bring the vehicle to a fu ll stop.
A WARNING
Pedals that ca nnot move freely ca n cause loss
of vehicle contro l and increase the r is k of seri
ous injury.
Page 107 of 236

a:,
a:,
...... N r--. N .... 0 0 ::, a:,
-Never place any objects in the driver's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal area and interfere w ith pedal function. In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothi ng can fall or
move into the dr iver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mots that con be securely at
tached to the floor mot fasteners and do not 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
q .&, .
Use only floor mats that leave the 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 .
F loor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Fl oor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Proper ly 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
Peda ls that cannot move free ly can result i n a
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
ser ious personal injury .
-Always make sure that floor mats are prop erly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floo r coverings in the veh icle that ca nnot be
prope rly secured in place to prevent them
from slipp ing and in terfering with the ped
als or the abili ty to contro l the vehicle.
- Never place or insta ll floor mats or o ther
floo r coverings on top of already insta lled
floo r ma ts. Addit ional floor mats and othe r
coverings w ill reduce the size of the peda l
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secu re floor
mats that have been taken o ut for cleaning .
Driving safety
-Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
mov ing. 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 compart
ment.
Fi g. 103 Safe load pos ition ing: place heavy objects as low
and as fa r forward as poss ible.
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 veh icle 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 possib le
q fig. 103 .
.. Sec ure luggage usi ng the t ie-downs provided
q pogeSO.
.. Make sure that the rear seatback is secure ly
latched in place .
A WARNING
Improperly stored luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle caus ing serious per
sona l injury i n the event of hard brak ing or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serio us
personal injury :
~
105
Page 108 of 236

Driving safety
-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
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 100.
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 Panoramic 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 .
106
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 window 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 capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured. For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter
¢ page 181.
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 105, Loading the luggage compartment . ..,_
Page 109 of 236

'°
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will become heavy missiles that can cause serious in
jury. Items in the vehicle possess energy which vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item. Vehicle speed is the most significant factor .
For example, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces acting on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item . This 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 passenger compartment could cause in a col
l ision like this.
& WARNING ,___ -
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail during hard
braking or in a collision and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan
gerous missiles .
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitable mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help prevent
items from flying forward as dangerous
missiles 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
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in-
~ form the National Highway Traffic ,....
s Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
0
:::,
00
Driving safety
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com
plaints, it may open an investiga
tion , and if it finds that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and
remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, Inc.
To contact the N HTSA, you may
either call:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to:
NHTSA
U.S. Department of Transporta
tion 1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E.
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
You can also obtain other infor
mation about motor vehicle safe
ty from:
http:/ /www.safercar.gov
107
Page 110 of 236
Driving safety
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you be
lieve that your vehicle has a de
fect that could cause a crash, in
jury or death, you should immedi
ately inform Transport Canada, Defect Investigations and Recalls .
You should also notify Audi Cana
da .
Canadian customers who wish to report a safety-related defect to
Transport Canada, Defect Invest i
gations and Recalls, may either
call Transport Canada toll-free at :
Tel.: 1-800-333 -0510 or
Tel.: 1 -819-994-3328 (Ottawa re
gion and from other countries)
T TY for hearing impaired :
1 -888-67 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by mail at:
Transport Canada Motor Vehic le Safety Investiga
tions Laboratory
80 Noel Stree t
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
F o r additional road safety infor
mation, please visit the Road
Safety website at :
108
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/
roadsafety/menu .htm
Page 111 of 236

00
00
....
"' ,-...
"' .... 0 0 :::,
00
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat ing position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on your lap.
- Never let mo re people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child 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.
Fi g. 104 Safety belt warn ing light in the instrument clus ·
te r -en larged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' 0 N ... m
.,. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
.,. Protect your children with a child restraint sys
tem appropr iate for the size and age of the chil
dren .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a re
minder to fasten the safety belts . In addition,
you w ill hear a warn ing tone for a certain period
of time.
Fasten your safety belt now and make sure that
your passengers also properly put on their safe
ty belts.
A WARNING
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to red uce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
109
Page 112 of 236

Safe ty belts
-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles.
F ig . 10 5 Unbe lted occupants in a ve hicle headi ng for a wall
Fig . 1 06 The ve hicle c ras hes into the wall
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy wh ich var
ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi
neers call this energy "kinet ic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash .
Vehicle speed is the most significant fac tor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because t he passengers of th is veh icle are not us
ing safety belts<=>
fig. 105, they will keep mov ing
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
befo re the crash , u nti l something stops them -
here, the wall
r=> fig. 106.
110
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
veh icle that is invo lved in a frontal collision . Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h) ,
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
(2,000 lbs . or 1,000 kg) or more. At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher .
People who do not use safety belts are a lso not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep mov ing fo rward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash .
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens
i n a ll kinds of accide nts and co llisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbel ted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
F ig. 107 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is vio lent ly
t h row n forward
Fig. 108 A rea r passe nge r not wea ring a safety be lt will fly
forwa rd an d str ike t he drive r
Unbelted occ upants are not ab le to res ist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holdi ng tight or
braci ng themselves. Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestra ined occupant
will slam violently into the stee ring wheel ,
Ill>