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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.
.,. 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

Safety belts
_&. 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 correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be fore driving off and make sure all passen
gers are correctly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with 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 . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- 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 belt. However, spe
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
112
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer 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
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al
so be inspected.
- Never
remove, modify , disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func
tion of the inertia reel¢
table Interior
cleaning on page 193.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 110 Be lt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper
ly¢
page 44, Front seats.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis¢ ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle. .,,_

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Automatic safety belt r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
The safety belts are equipped with a belt preten
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated.
The funct ion of the pretensioner is monitored by
a warning light
r::> page 14 .
Convertibl e loc king retract or
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac
tor that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
<::> page 147 .
& WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accide nt
¢ page 113,
Safe ty belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear sea t ba ck
rest to wh ic h t he cente r re ar safety be lt 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 cras h.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle w ill reduce safety belt effec
t iveness and can cause serious personal in
jury.
- A passenger who is not p roperly restrained
can be seriously in ju red by the safety be lt it
self when it moves from the stronger par ts
Safet y bel ts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when yo u are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
r::> page 149.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 111 Safety belt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to ma tch your body
s iz e.
- be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
- he ight-adjustable front seats .
& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
se rious personal 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 . Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so th at it sits as low as pos
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdomen . The belt should a lway s fit
snug ly
r::> fig. 111. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
- The lap be lt portion of the sa fety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
r::> fig. 111 . Pull on
the belt to tighte n if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
in ju ries by shifting its position on your body
~
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The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the bod y ¢
A in Safety belt position on
page 113.
.. Push
the loop- around fittings up ¢ fig. 114 @,
or
.. squeeze to gether the@ button, and push the
loop-around fittings
do wn@ .
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at
tachment is p roperly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth
er important informat ion
¢ page 111.
With the front seats, the height adjustment
of the seat can also be used to adjust the po
sition of the safety belts .
Improperly worn safety belts
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 a re correctly pos itioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive
n ess of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury and death by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the co rrect seat ing posi
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and espec ia lly for children.
Therefore:
.. Never permit anyone to ass ume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
¢ &, .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
S afet y be lts
- 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 and
other important informat ion¢
page 111.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
In front, side and rear-end collisions above a
particular severity and in a rollover, safety belts
are tensioned automatically.
The safety belts are equ ipped w it h safety belt
pretens ione rs . The system is activated by sensors
i n front, s ide and re a r-end collisions of great se
ver ity and in a ro llover. This tightens the bel t and
t a kes up belt slack¢.&.
in Service and disposal of
safety belt pretensioner on page 116.
Taking up
the slack he lps to reduce forward occupant
movement during a collision.
(D Note
Neve r let the belt remain over a rea r seatback
that has been folded forwar d.
{D Tips
The safety belt pretensioner can only be ac ti
vated once.
- T he safe ty be lt pretensione rs do no t de ploy
in minor fron tal, side a nd rear -end colli
sions .
- W hen the safe ty belt pretensioners are acti
vated, a fine dust is released . This is normal
and is not caused by a fire in the ve hicle .
- T he relevant safety requirements mus t be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. An autho rize d
Audi dealer or qua lified workshop is familia r
w ith these reg ulations and will be pleased
to pass on the information to yo u.
- Be sure to observe all safety, environmenta l
and other regulat ions if the vehicle or indi
vidua l parts of the system, particularly the
safety belt or airbag, are to be disposed. We
recommend you have yo ur autho rized Aud i
dea ler perform t his service fo r you.
115

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A irbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only suppl emental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop er seating position.
F or your safety and the safety of your passen
ge rs , before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the dr iver's seat and steering wheel
prope rly 9page
101,
.,. Adjus t the fro nt passenger's seat prope rly
¢ page 102,
.,. Wear safety bel ts p roperly ¢ page 111,
.,. Always properly use the proper c hild restraint
to protect children
¢ page 137 .
In a coll is io n air bags must infla te wi thin the blink
of an eye and with co nsiderable for ce . The s up
p lemental airbags can cause injuries if the drive r
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper
ly . Therefore in order to help the a irbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a d river and as a p as
senger to sit properly at a ll times .
By keeping room between yo ur body and the
steer ing whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
comp letely and prov ide supplemental pro tect io n
in certa in frontal collis ions ¢
page 101, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
ope ration of th e seat ad justment con trols
¢page 44.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restra ined
¢ page 137.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind ividual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
sys tem.
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front a irbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond it ion that
p revents yo u from s itting proper ly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt prope rly fastened and
Airb ag sys tem
reach ing the pedals, special modifications to
your vehicle may be necessary.
Contact yo ur aut ho rize d Au di dea le r, or call A udi
Cu stomer Rela tions at 1-800-82 2-283 4.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, b reak open the padded cov
ers, and infla te be twee n the steeri ng wheel and
the d river and between the inst rumen t pa ne l and
the front passenger . The a irbags w ill deflate im
mediate ly after deployment so that the front oc
c u pants can see th rough the windsh ie ld again
without interruption .
All o f th is takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many peop le don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be in the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forward move
me nt. T ogether they help to prevent the d river
and fro nt seat passe nger from hitt ing pa rts of
t h e inside the ve hicle while redu cing the fo rces
act ing on the occupant dur ing t he crash . In t his
way they help to reduce the risk of inj ury to the
head and uppe r body in the crash . Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
B oth front airbags will no t infla te in a ll frontal
co llisions. The t riggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle decelerat ion rate caused by
the coll is ion and registered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is be low the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be t rigge red, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi
cl e damage, repair costs or even the lack of veh i
cl e damage is no t necessari ly an indic ation of
whethe r an a irbag should infl ate o r not.
It is no t possib le to define a range of vehicle
spe eds t hat w ill cove r every possible kind and an
gle of impa ct tha t will a lways tr igger the airbags ,
s in ce the circumst ances w ill vary cons iderably be
tween one collision and another. Important fa c
tors include, for example, the nat ure (har d or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will
IIJJ,
117

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro ll-overs.
Alwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed ; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::> page 109 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel or in
strument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision .
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag .
-If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rward, s it
t ing s ideways or out of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
118
-
- To reduce the risk of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 112, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates .
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 101.
- Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat . Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash must be replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in your vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash .
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat ion and
head the WARNINGS for important details .,.

about children and Advanced Airbags
<=>page 137 .
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil
dren, especially those 12 years and younge r, a l
ways 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
a n infant or a child in a rearward-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been certified to comply with the requirements
of United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd (FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Veh icle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le a t the time your veh icle was m an ufact ured.
Accord ing to requirements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certified for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
ployment" for children aged
3 to 6 years old (as
defined in the standard) .
The
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off
by the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS ·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
-will stay on if there is a sma ll chi ld or chi ld re
straint on the front passenge r seat,
- will go
off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as reg istered by the weight
sensing mat
c:> page 12 7, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
The PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
when the contro l unit detects a tota l weight on
the front passenger seat that requi res the front
~ airbag to be turned off . ......
"' ~ If the total weight on the front passenge r seat is ......
8 more than that of a typical 1 year-old child but :::, 00
Airb ag sys tem
less than the weight o f a sma ll adult, the front
airbag on the passenger side can dep loy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light does not come
on). If the
PA SSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on, the front airbag on the passenger
s ide has not been turned
off by the electronic
control unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor
ed in its memo ry .
For example, the airbag may deploy if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whether the child is in one of the
child safety seats listed
c:> page 139), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild restraints is on
the front passenger seat.
If the front passenger airbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light comes on in the
instrument cluster and stays on.
T he front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not illuminate and stay lit) even if a small adu lt
or teenager, or a passenger who is not s itting up
right w ith their back against a non-recl ined back
rest with the ir feet on the vehicle floor i n front of
the seat is on the front passenger seat
c:> page 101, Proper seating position for the driv
er.
If the front passenge r a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requi res the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cri te ria to reduce the r is k of in
j u ry throug h interact ion w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deploymen t occurs in t hose crashes tha t
take place at lowe r dece lerations as defined in
the e lectronic control unit
c:> page 128, PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
Always remembe r, a ch ild safety sea t or infan t
carr ier installed on the front seat may be s truck
and knocked out of positio n by the rapidly i nflat
ing passenger's airbag in a frontal coll ision . The
airbag could greatly red uce the effectiveness of
the child restraint and even seriously injure the
child during inflation .
IJJ,,
119

Airbag syste m
For this reason, and bec ause t he back seat is the
safest place for chi ldren -when properly restrain
ed according to the ir age and size -we strong ly
recommend that children a lways sit in the back
seat
<=> page 13 7, Child safety.
A WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat w ill be
ser iously injured and can be killed if the front
airbag inflates -even w ith an Advanced Ai rbag
System.
- T he inflating a irbag w il l hit the child safety
seat or infant car rier with g reat force and
will smash the ch ild safety seat an d child
against the backrest, cen ter armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
-If you mus t install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safe ty seat on the front passenger seat be
ca use of exceptiona l circumstances and the
PASSENGER 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
ca use serious pe rsonal injury to the child .
A WARNING
If, in exceptio nal circumstances, you must in
stall a fo rward-facing chi ld res train t on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-facing seat
has been designed and ce rt ified by its man
u fa ctu rer for use on a fron t se at with a pas
senger fron t and si de a irbag .
- Never pu t the forw ard-fa cing child res tra int
up against or very near the ins trument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger se at to
the h ighes t position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rea rmost position in the seat's fore and aft
120
ad justment range, as far away from the a ir
bag as poss ible, before install ing the for
ward-facing chi ld restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt upper
anchorage is behind the ch ild rest raint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety be lt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER A IR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on a ll the time
whenever the ig nit io n is swi tched on.
A WARNING
To reduce the ris k of serious injury, ma ke sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight will
be d isp layed whenever a ch ild rest raint is in
stalled on the front p assenge r seat and the
ignit ion is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
no t stay on, perform the checks describe d
<=> page 12 7, Monitoring the Advanced Air
bag System .
- Take the child res tra int off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions i f the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the ai rbag system inspected by your
author ized Audi dealer immed iate ly.
- Always carefully follow instructions from
child restra int 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 front 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 restra int can
interfere with the airbag as it deploys and
serious ly injure or even ki ll the child -even
w it h an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child safe ty
seat o r ca rrie r.