u (0 ...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
:E
is in an upright position and securely latched in
place before using the belt¢.&_ .
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢
fig. 233, ¢ .&_ .
.. 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.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder belt. This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident . The belt
may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv
ing the belt lets you move freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
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
¢
page 2 71 . The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
q page 29.
Convertible locking retractor
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 306.
.&._ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident
q page 269,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
-Always make sure that the rear seat back rest to which the center rear safety belt is
attached is securely 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-
Safety belts
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a crash.
- Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle will reduce safety belt effec
tiveness and can cause serious personal in
jury .
- A passenger who is not properly restrained
can be seriously injured by the safety belt it
self when it moves from the stronger parts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo
men .
- Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
¢ page 308.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts .
Fig. 234 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size .
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possible and
should fit well on the body. Hold the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so that it sits as low as pos-
sible on the pelvis and there is no pressure
~
269
u (0 ...... N r--. N ...... 0
0
:E
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fig . 237 Safety bel t height ad justment -loop -around fit
t ings
The shou lder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as poss ib le and should fit well
on the body¢&.
in Safety belt position on
page
269.
• Push the loop-around fitt ings up ¢ fig . 237 @,
or
• squeeze together the(!) button, and push the
loop-arou nd fittings
down @.
• Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at
tachment is proper ly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth
er important informat ion¢
page 268.
@ Tips
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 saf ety belts can cause se
vere injuries.
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri
ous injury or death. Safety belts can on ly work
when they are correctly pos itioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effective ness of safety belts and will even increase the
Safet y bel ts
risk of i nju ry and death by moving the safety be lt
to critical areas of the body . Improper seating
pos itions also increase the r isk of serious injury
and death when an airbag dep loys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi
t ion . A driver is responsible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and especially for ch ild ren.
The refore:
• Never perm it anyone to assume an incorrect
sitt ing position in the vehicle while traveling
¢ ,&. .
.8, WARNING
Imp roperly wo rn safe ty belts increase the risk
of ser ious personal in jury and death whe never
a veh icle is being used .
- Always make sure that all ve hicle occupants
are cor rec tly rest rained and stay in a corre ct
seating posi tion whenever t he vehicle is be
ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
o ther impor tant informat ion ¢
page 268.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Rever sible safety belt pretensioners
The following functions are available when safety
belts w ith reversible safety belt tensione rs are
fastened:
- Automatic tensioners : at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automatically adjust to the passenger after a certain time period or veh icle
speed . To switch the automatic tensioners off,
select the following in t he Infotainment sys
tem:
! M EN UI button> Car > left con trol b utton
> Vehicle setting s > Seats > Driver' s seat or
Passenger' s seat > Automati c be lt ten sioner .
- In ce rta in driv ing s ituations, the safety bel ts
may tighten w it h a reversib le tensioning func
tion
¢ page 117.
-The safety be lts may also tighten with this re
vers ible te ns ion ing f unct ion in m inor collisions . .,.
271
u co ...... N r-... N ...... 0
0
:E: '
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints. For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
gers, before driving off, always :
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly
9 page 257,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 258,
.,. Wear safety belts properly ¢ page 268,
.,. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 295.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal collisions
¢ page 257, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 59.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
¢page 295.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au
thori zed Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or
call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im
mediately after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move
ment . Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces
acting on the occupant during the crash . In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably
between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will
II>
273
Child safet y
A WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with
Advanced Airbags can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A child in
a rearward-facing child safety seat installed
on the front passenger seat will be serious ly
injured and can be killed if the front a irbag in
flates .
- The inflating a irbag w ill hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the chi ld safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, o r
doo r.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat in
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF~;
light does not come
on and stay on, immediately install the rear
facing child safety seat in a rear seating po sition and have the airbag system inspected
immediately by your Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Forward-facing chi ld seats installed on the
front passenger seat may interfere with the deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
personal injury to the child .
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward -facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat , the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its
manufacturer for use on a front passenger
seat with a front and s ide a irbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with the child seat
or infant carrier.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer 's instructions
require the top tether strap to be used.
296
- Never put the forward-fac ing child re
straint up against or very near the instru
ment panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper anchor
age to the adjustment position that per
mits proper installation in accordance
with the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions .
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the h ighest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
r earmos t position in the seat's fore and
aft adj ustmen t range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint .
- Always make s ure that the safety belt up
per anchorage is behind the chi ld restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re
straint so that the safety belt wi ll be prop
erly pos itioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de
v ice, power inverter or seat heater for
ch ild seats) . These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measured by the capaci
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly a round in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD p layer, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socket or the cigarette lighter socket .
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cush ion .
- Always make sure that the
PA SSEN GER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light comes on and stays
Child safety
-The child and the passenger can also in
jure each other in an accident.
- Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be killed when the passenger airbag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Make sure there is enough space in front of
the child in the child seat. If necessary, ad
just the angle and position of the seat in
front of the child seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats installed
on the front passenger's seat can interfere
with the airbag when it inflates and cause
serious injury to the child. Always install for
ward-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require that the following
special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and side airbag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instructions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down
adjustment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt up
per anchorage is behind the child restraint
and not next to or in front of the child re-
300
straint so that the safety belt will be prop
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
-Always make sure that the backrest is in
the upright position.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-
volt socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games de
vice, power inverter or seat heater for
child seats). These may influence the elec
trical capacitance measured by the capaci
tive passenger detection system and can
also fly around in an accident and cause
serious personal injury.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used<::;>
page 265, Safety belts,
r:::;,page 273, Airbag system
and
r:::;, page 295, Child safety.
.8. WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make sure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 11,;; light
comes on and stays on whenever a child re
straint is installed on the front passenger seat
and the ignition is switched on. .,_
Child safety
restraint in place ~page 63. Install the
head restraint again immediately once the
child seat is removed. Driving without head
restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used
~ page 265, Safety belts,
~ page 2 73, Airbag system and
~ page 295, Important information.
_& WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat , the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer 's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat to the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
304 if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects (such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats) . These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detect ion system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
11,;; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF 11,;; light
does not come on and stay on, immediately
install the forward-facing child seat at a
seating position on the rear seat and have
the airbag system inspected by your author
ized Audi dealer.
- Take the child restraint off the front passen
ger seat and install it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
11,;; light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft.
9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 250 Rear se at; chi ld proper ly restrained in a booster
sea t
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and must lie fla t and snug on the upper body.
It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen. Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a boos
ter seat on the front passenger seat , you can
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r:=>page 301.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats de-
u ~ signed for their age and we ight. Experts say that
N ~ the skeletal structure , part icularly the pelvis , of
g these children is not fully developed, and they
:E
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro
priate booster seats. Be su re the booster seat
meets all applicab le safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a boos
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildr en who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle 's
three point lap and shoulder belts . Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that childr en do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the ve
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . T he
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pe lvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child 's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerab le force. In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the occu
pan t moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat be
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child 's ..,.
305
Child safety
-Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up, against or very near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and aft
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possible, before installing the for
ward-facing child restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi
tioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF~ ;
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof .
- Always be especially careful if you must in
stall a rearward facing child safety seat on
the front passenger seat in exceptional cir
cumstances .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF~;
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rear-facing child safety seat in a
rear seating position and have the airbag
system inspected by your Audi dealer .
308
· Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure a
child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer 's
instructions when installing a child restrain t in
your vehicle . To activate the convertible locking
retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably
on the rear seat .
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out .
.. Route it around or through the child restraint
belt path
~ ,&. .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that
seating position.
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor un
til the belt lies flat and snug on the child safety
seat.
.. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the belt
winds back into the inertia reel. Test the con
vertible locking retractor by pulling on the belt.
You should no longer be able to putt the belt
out of the retractor. The convertible locking re
tractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is facing
away from the child restraint so that it can be
unbuckled quickly.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is
properly tight and fastened so that the seat
cannot move forward or sideways more than
one inch (2 .5 cm) .
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an improp
erly installed child restraint can cause serious
personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt retrac
tor cannot hold the child safety seat in place
during normal driving or in a crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in
place even if a child is not sitting in it. A
loose child safety seat can fly around during
a sudden stop or in a crash.