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-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
- Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restraints so the upper edge is as
even as possible with the top of your head.
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restraint so that it is as close to th is position
as possible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restraint
while driving. If you have driven off and
must adjust the driver headrest for any rea·
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at·
tempting to adjust the head restraint.
- Children must always be properly restrained
in a ch ild restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
q page 168.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system con only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in·
jury or death. Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body . Im·
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit·
ical areas of the body. Improper seating posit ions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu·
pants and especially for children . Therefore:
.. Never allow anyone to assume an incorrect
seat ing pos ition when the vehicle is being used
¢ ,&. .
The following bulletins list only some sample po·
sitions that will increase the risk of serious injury
and death. Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating posit ions that
are dangerous.
Driving safety
Therefore , whenever the vehicle is moving :
-never stand up in the vehicle
- never stand on the seats
- never kneel on the seats
- never ride with the seatback reclined
- never lie down on the rear seat
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- never put your feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
Improper seating positions increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
-Always make sure that all vehicle occupants stay in a proper seating position and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Pedal area
Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mot or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move freely without in·
terference and that nothing prevents them from
returning to their original positions .
Only use floor mats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners .
If a brake circuit fails, increased brake pedal trav
el is required to bring the vehicle to a full stop .
A WARNING
-
Pedals that cannot move freely can cause loss
of vehicle control and increase the risk of seri·
ous injury. ""
135
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Driving safety
-Never place any objects in the driver's foot
well. An object could get into the pedal area
and interfere with pedal function. In case of
sudden braking or an accident, you would not be able to brake or accelerate!
- Always make sure that nothing can fall or
move into the driver's footwell.
Floor mats on the driver side
Always use floor mots that con be securely at 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
c> _& .
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 .
Floor mat fasteners are installed in your Audi.
Floor mats used in your vehicle must be attached
to these fasteners. Properly securing the floor mats will prevent them from sliding into posi
tions that could interfere with the pedals or im pair safe operation of your vehicle in other ways.
A WARNING
Pedals that cannot move freely can result in a
loss of vehicle control and increase the risk of
serious personal injury.
- Always make sure that floor mats are prop
erly secured.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings in the vehicle that cannot be
properly secured in place to prevent them
from slipping and interfering with the ped
als or the ability to control the vehicle.
- Never place or install floor mats or other
floor coverings on top of already installed
floor mats. Additional floor mats and other
coverings will reduce the size of the peda l
area and interfere with the pedals .
- Always properly reinstall and secure floor
mats that have been taken out for cleaning .
136
-Always make sure that objects cannot fall
into the driver footwell while the vehicle is
moving. Objects can become trapped under
the brake pedal and accelerator pedal caus
ing a loss of vehicle control.
Storing cargo correctly
Loading the luggage compartment
All luggage and other objects must be properly stowed and secured in the luggage comport
ment.
Fig. 152 Safe load positioning : place heavy ob jects as low
and as far forward as poss ib le.
Loose items in the luggage compartment can
shift suddenly, changing vehicle handling charac
teristics. Loose items can also increase the risk of
serious personal injury in a sudden vehicle ma
neuver or in a collision .
• Distribute the load evenly in the luggage com
partment.
• Always place and properly secure heavy items in
the luggage compartment as low and as far for
ward as possible
c>fig. 152.
• Secure luggage using the tie-downs provided
c> poge 67.
• Make sure that the rear seatback is securely
latched in place.
A WARNING
Improperly sto red luggage or other items can
fly through the vehicle caus ing serious per
sona l injury in the event of hard braking or an
accident. To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
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-Always put objects, for example, luggage or
other heavy items in the luggage compart
ment.
- Always secure objects in the luggage com
partment using the tie-down eyelets and
suitable straps.
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi
cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
hand ling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
- Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on the left
door jamb. Exceeding permissible weight
standards can cause the vehicle to slide and
handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
<=>page 131.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be
cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the Pano ramic sliding sunroof*,
- Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
Driving safety
A WARNING
-
Always make sure that the doors, all win
dows, the Panoramic sliding sunroof* and the
rear lid are securely closed and locked to re
duce the risk of injury when the vehicle is not
being used .
-After closing the rear lid, always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
- Never leave your vehicle unattended espe
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug
gage compartment and close the rear lid be
coming trapped and unable to get out. Be
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi
cle.
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment. Vehicle occupants must al
ways be properly restrained in one of the ve
hicle's seating positions.
(D Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce w indow fog
ging . Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open.
- The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure is shown on the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo
cated on the driver's side B-pillar . The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
tire inflation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capac ity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured. For recommended t ire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter
r=> page 241.
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
Q page 136, Loading the luggage compartment . ..,_
137
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Driving sa fe ty
In a collision, the laws of physics mean that even
sma ller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause ser ious in
jury. Items in the veh icle possess energy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Veh icle speed is the most s ignificant factor .
For examp le, in a frontal collision at a speed of
30 mph (48 km/h), the forces act ing on a 10-lb
(4.5 kg) object are about 20 times the normal
weight of the item . Th is means that the weight
of the item would suddenly be about
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagine the injuries
that a 200 lbs. (90 kg) item flying free ly through
the passenge r compartmen t could c ause in a co l
lision like this.
A WARNING
Weak, damaged or improper straps used to
secure items to tie-downs can fail d uring hard
brak ing or in a collision and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Always use suitab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help p revent
items from shifting or flying forward as dan
gerous missiles.
- When the rear seat backrest is folded down,
always use suitab le mounting straps and
properly secure items to the tie-downs in
the luggage compartment to help p revent
items from flying forwa rd as dangerous
missiles into the passenger compartment.
- Never a ttach a child safety seat tethe r strap
to a tie-down.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If yo u b eliev e that your vehi cle
h as a defect which could cause a
c ra sh or could cau se injur y or
d ea th, you should immedi ately in
form th e National Highw ay Tr affi c
Safet y Admini str ation (NHTSA ) in
138
ad dition t o notif yin g Audi of
Amer ic a, Inc .
If NHTSA re ce iv es similar com
pl aint s, it ma y op en an in vestiga
tion , and if it finds that a safety
defect s ex ists in a group of
vehicles, it m ay order a recall and
remedy campaign. Howe ver,
NHTS A cann ot b ecome in volved in
indi vidual probl em s bet ween you,
your dealer, or Audi of America,
Inc.
To conta ct th e NHT SA, you ma y
e ither call:
T el.: 1-888- 327-4236 (TT Y:
1-800-4 24-9 153) o r
1-800-424-9393
or you ma y write t o:
NHTSA
U .S. Dep art ment of Tran sp o rta
tion 1200 Ne w Jers ey Ave ., S. E.
W est Building
W ashington , DC 20590
You can also obtain other info r
mation about motor vehicle safe
ty from:
http: / /www. safer car.go v
Page 141 of 296
Applicable to C an ad a
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 Investigat ions and Recalls.
You should also notify Audi Cana
da .
Canadian customers who wish to
report a safety-related defect to
Transport Canada, Defect Investi 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)
TTY for hearing impaired: 1-888-67 5-6863
or contact Transport Canada by mail at:
Transport Canada Motor Vehicle Safety Investiga
tions Laboratory
80 Noel Street
Gatineau, QC
J8Z 0Al
F or additional road safety infor
mation, please visit the Road
g; Safety website at:
-N r-N
-0 0 0: a:,
Driving safety
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/
roadsafety/menu.htm
1 39
Page 142 of 296

Safety belt s
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safe ty belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r explains why safety be lts a re neces
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
.. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
&_ WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of ser ious personal
injury and dea th .
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ilab le to reduce the risk of serious
injury and dea th in automob ile accidents .
For yo ur protect ion and that of your passe n
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fety be lt s
when the veh icle is moving .
- Pregnant wom en, in ju re d, o r physically i m
paired persons mus t also use s afety be lts.
L ik e all vehi cle o ccu pants, they are mo re
li kely to be serio usly injure d if th ey do no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r -th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy .
Number of seats
Your Audi has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat
i n g position has a safety belt.
&_ WARNING
N ot wea ring safety bel ts or weari ng them im
properly increases th e r isk of ser ious personal
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever st rap more tha n one perso n, includ
ing small ch ildren, into a ny be lt .
It is espe
ci ally dan gerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c hild s itting on you r lap.
- N ever le t mo re people ride in t he vehicle
t h an t he re are saf ety bel ts availab le.
140
-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. 153 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 wa rning lig ht . in 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.
&_ WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le mos t eff ec tive
means available to re duce the risk of serio us
in jur y and death in a utomo bile accidents.
For your protection and t hat of yo ur passen
ge rs , a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
when t he veh icle is moving .
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-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come on, could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 154 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 155 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy which var ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi
neers call this energy "kinetic 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.
Veh icle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us
ing safety belts
¢fig. 154, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 155 .
Safety belts
The same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. 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 the ir vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
they will also keep moving forward 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 in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 156 A dr iver not wearing a safety belt is violently
thrown forward
Fig . 157 A rear passe nger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forwa rd and strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam v iolently into the steering wheel,
Ill>-
141
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Safe ty belts
instrument panel, windshield, or whatever else is
in the way
r:!> fig. 156. This impact with the vehi
cle interior has all the energy they had just be
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additional
protection. A irbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith airbags, all vehicle occupants, in
cluding the driver, must wear safety belts cor
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in wh ic h
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed . Unbel ted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the veh icle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injuries can occur .
It is also important for the rear pass engers to
wear safety belts correctly. Unbelted passengers
i n t he re ar seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
~ fig . 157. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure the driver and/or front seat passenger.
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It's simply
not true!
F ig . 1 58 Driver is co rrectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m aneu ver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap-
142
plied to the body in an accident , and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri
ous injuries. In add ition, sa fety belts red uce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to cause inju ry .
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes .
So, whethe r yo u're on a long trip or just goi ng to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t st at ist ics show that veh i
cle o ccupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of being injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l
li sions, in roll overs or in cases where the re is not
eno ugh deceler ation throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safe ty belts must always be correctly positioned
acros s the strongest bones of your body .
.,. Always wear safety belts as illustrated and de
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd are not damaged .