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weather conditions .
.. Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
.. Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres
sure or when you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
ser ious personal inj ury and death whenever a
vehicle is being used .
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig . 2 24 Co rrec t seating position
F or your own safety and to reduce the risk of in
jury in the event of an accident,
we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position:
.. Adjust the dr iver's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the f loor wh ile
keeping your knee(s) s lightly bent~
_A.
.. Adjust the ang le of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact w ith it when you drive.
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and you r breast bone~
fig. 224 .
If not possib le, see your autho rized Aud i dea le r
abo ut adapt ive eq uipment.
Dr iving safety
.. Adjust the steering wheel so that the steering
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at your face.
.. Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent .
.,. Adjust the head restra int so the upper edge is
as even as possible w ith the top of your head . If
that is not possible, t ry to adjust the head re
straint so that it is as close to this posit ion as
possible .
.. Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
~page 268 .
.. Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the veh icle at a ll times.
For detailed information on how to adj ust the
driver's seat, see
~page 59.
A WARNING
-
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in
jured by an airbag as it unfolds. To help re d uce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always ad just the driver's seat and the
steer ing wheel so that there are at least
10 inc hes (25 cm) between you r breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out
side of the steering wheel r im with your
hands at the 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to help reduce the risk of personal in
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
- Never ho ld the stee ring wheel at the
12 o'clock position o r with yo ur hands at
o ther posi tions ins ide the s teer ing whee l
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serio us injuries to the hands, arms and head
if the dr iver's airbag dep loys .
- Pointing the steering wheel toward your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen tal driver's airbag to protect you in a colli
sion.
- Always sit in an upright position and never
lean aga inst or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are located .
.,
257

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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>
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¢page 295.
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped with an Ad
vanced Airbag System, make certain that all chil
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
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 OFF ~ ; light in the
headliner tells you when the front Advanced Air
bag on the passenger side has been turned off by
the electronic control unit.
Each time yo u turn on the ignition, the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF ~; ON
@ light will come on
for a few seconds and:
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the front passenger seat is not occupied
- PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
the e lectrica l capacitance measured by the ca
pacitive passenger detection system for the
front passenger seat equa ls the comb ined ca
pacitance of an infant up to about one year of
age and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restra ints listed i n Federa l Moto r
Vehicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with
wh ich the Advanced Airbag System i n your veh i
cl e was certified . Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to ce rtify you r vehicle 's
compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 297 .
Airb ag sys tem
-PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; will come on if
there is a small chi ld or child restraint on the
front passenger seat
- PASSENGER AIR BAG ON@ will come on if the
front passenger seat is occupied by an ad ult as
registered by the capacit ive passenger detec
tion system
¢ page 285, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System .
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on
when e lectrical capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less than the
combined capacitance of a typical 1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restrai nts listed in Federal Motor Ve
hicle Safety Standard ( FMVSS) 208 with wh ich
the Advan ced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rtified.
If the total electr ical capacitance reg istered on
t h e front passenger seat is mo re than that of a
typ ical 1 year -old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sm all adult, the front air bag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~;
light does not come on) .
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light does
not come on, the front airbag on the p assenger
s ide has not been turned off by the electronic
contro l unit and can deploy if the contro l unit
senses an impact that meets the conditions stor
ed in its memory.
For example , the airbag may deploy if :
-a small c hild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
year -o ld child is on the front passenger se at
(regardless o f whethe r the child is in one o f the
child sa fe ty seats listed
¢ page 29 7), o r
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
t he front passenge r seat .
If the front passenge r airbag is t urned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes on i n
t h e headliner a nd stays o n.
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requi res the airbag to meet the "low
r isk " dep loymen t criteria to redu ce the r isk of in
j u ry through interaction w it h t he airbag. "Low
risk" deployment oc curs in those crashes that
take place at lowe r decelerations as defined in
Ill>
275

Airbag system
-Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
,& WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
- Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
-
- Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag
can become projectiles when the airbag de
ploys and cause serious personal injury.
- Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
- Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach then to the doors or the wind
shield; never place them over or near or at
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG" on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
- Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in
jury in a collision, especially when the air bags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger seat to transport objects. Items can also move into
the deployment area of the side airbags or
the front airbag during breaking or in a sud
den maneuver. Objects near the airbags can
fly dangerously through the passenger com partment and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined and the airbags in
flate.
278
,& WARNING
, -
A person on the front passenger seat, espe
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be ing too close to the airbag when it inflates .
- Although the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle is designed to turn off the front passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
- The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in accordance with the ,.low risk" option for 3-
and 6-year-old children under the U.S. Fed
eral Standard if a child with electrical capac
itance greater than the combined capaci
tance of a typical one-year old infant re
strained in one of the forward facing or rear
ward-facing child seats with which your ve hicle was certified is on the front passenger
seat and the other conditions for airbag de
ployment are met.
- Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seating position.
- For their own safety, all children, especially
12 years and younger, should always ride in
the back properly restrained for their age
and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured .
-
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in
flate only in frontal impacts when the vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
ll>

Child safety
Important information
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision .
The physical principles of what happens when
your vehicle is in a crash apply also to children
c:> page 266, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not fully
developed. In many respects children are at
greater r isk of serious injury in crashes than
adults .
Because children's bodies are not fu lly devel
oped, they require restraint systems especially
designed for their size, weight , and body struc
ture. Many countries and all states of the United
States and provinces of Canada have laws requir
ing the use of approved child restraint systems
for infants and small children .
I n a frontal crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph (30 -
56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound (6 kg)
infant will be more than 20 times the weight of
the child . This means the weight of the chi ld
would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg) . Under these conditions, only an appro
priate child restraint properly used can reduce
the r isk of serious injury . Child restra ints, like
adult safety belts, must be used properly to be
effect ive. Used improperly, they can increase the
risk of serious injury in an accident .
All ch ildren, especially those 12 years and young
er must always ride in the back seat proper ly re
strained for their age and size. If you must install
a child restraint on the front passenger seat in
exceptional circumstances, be sure to read and
heed the important information and warnings
c:>page 274. Infants and other children who are
properly restrained in an appropriate child re
straint that is for their si ze and age can benefit
from the protection that supplemental side air-
~ bags provide in some kinds of crashes. ...... N r-... N For more information please see information ......
8 provided by the: :E: '
- National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
(NHTSA), currently at: http :/ /www.safe
rcar.gov (for the USA)
- Transport Canada Information Centre, current-
ly at: http://www.tc .gc.ca (for Canada)
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's in
structions in order to be sure the seat is right for
yo ur child's size
c:> page 299 , Important safety
instructions for using child safety seats .
Please
be sure to read and heed all of the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child safety,
Advanced Airbags, and the installation of child
restra ints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they work
when infants and children in child restraints are on the front passenger seat . Because of the large
amount of important informat ion, we cannot re
peat it all he re . We urge you to read the detailed
information in this owner's manual about airbags
and the Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle
and the very important information about trans
porting children on the front passenger seat.
P lease be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they are
extremely important for your safety and the safe
ty of your passengers, especially infants and
small children .
A WARNING
--Accident statistics have shown that children
are generally safer in the rear seat area than
in the front seat ing pos ition. Always restrain
any child age 12 and under in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or imp roperly
rest rained 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 improperly restrained
child is also at greater r isk of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
- A suitable ch ild restraint properly installed
and used at one of the rear seating positions
provides the h ighest degree of protect ion
for infants and small children in most acci
dent situat ions .
295

Wheels
be five 1 SO lb s. pa ssengers in
y our vehicle, th e amou nt of
av ail abl e c arg o and lu gga ge
lo ad ca pac ity is 650 lb s.
(1400- 750 (5 X 150) = 650
lb s.)
5 . De termin e the combined
w eight of lu gg ag e and cargo
bein g loade d on the vehi cle .
Th at w eight may not sa fel y ex
c e ed t he a vail able car go and
lugg age l oa d ca paci ty ca lc ulat
ed in St ep 4 .
6 . If yo ur ve hicle will b e towing a
tr aile r, lo ad from your tr aile r
will b e tran sfe rr ed to your v e
hi cle. C onsul t t his manual t o
dete rmin e how this re du ces
th e av ail ab le c argo and lug
g age load capa cit y of y our vehi
cl e.
~ c hec k th e tire sidewall
(¢ pa ge 333, fig. 2 73) to de ter
min e the de sign ated load rating
for a specific tire.
Wheel bolts and rims
Wheel bolts
Wheel bolts must be clean and loosen/t ighten
easi ly .
Rims
Rims with a bolted rim ring* or w ith bolted whee l
covers* consist of mu ltiple pieces . These compo
nents we re bolted together using special bolts
348
and a spec ia l proced ure. Yo u must no t repair or
disassemb le them
c:::> .&. .
A WARNING
Wheel bo lts that are tightened or repaired in
correct ly can become loose and resu lt in loss
of vehicle contro l, wh ich increases the risk of
an accident. For the correct tighten ing spec ifi
cation, see
c:::> page 365, Finishing.
- Always keep the wheel bolts and the
threads in the wheel h ub clean and free of
grease .
- Only use wheel bolts that fit the rim.
- Always have damaged rims repaired by an
author ized Audi dealer or authorized Audi
Serv ice Facility . Never repa ir or disassemb le
rims yourself, because this increases the risk
of an accident.
Winter tires
Winter tires significant ly improve the vehicle's
hand ling when dr iv ing in winter conditions. Be
cause of their construct ion (w idth, compound,
tread pattern), summer tires provide less t rac
tion on ice and snow .
.,. Use win ter tires on all four wheels.
.,. On ly use winter tires that a re approved for your
veh icle.
.,. Please note that the maximum permitted
speed may be lower with winter tires
c::> &_ . An
authorized Audi dealer or authorized Audi Serv
ice Facility can inform you about the maximum
permitted speed for your tires .
.,. Check the tire p ressure after installing wheels
c::> page 343 .
The effectiveness of winter tires is reduced great
ly when the tread is worn down to a depth of
0 .16 in (4 mm). The cha racteristics of winte r
t ir es a lso decrease g reatly as the t ire ages , re
gard less of the rema ining t read.
.&_ WARNING
-
- Never d rive fas ter than the max imum pe r
mitted speed for your tires . This could cause
the tires to heat up too much . This increases
~

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the tire t o burst.
- Always adapt yo ur drivi ng to the road and
traff ic conditions. Drive carefully and red uce
your speed on icy or slippery roads. Even
winter tires can lose traction on black ice.
@ For the sake of the environment
Reinstall summer ti res at the appropriate
time, because they provide better handling
when roads are free of snow and ice. Summer
tires cause less road noise, t ire wear and fuel
consumption.
(D Tips
You can also use all season tires instead of
w inter tires . Please note that in some coun
tries where w inter t ires are required, only
w inter t ires with the
die. symbol may be per
m itted.
Snow chains
Snow chains no t only imp rove the driving in wi n·
t er roa d cond itions, but a lso the brak ing.
" Only insta ll snow chains o n the
front wheels .
" Check and cor rect the sea ting of the snow
chains after dr iv ing a few feet, if necess ary. Fo l
low the ins truc tions from the ma nufa cturer .
" Note the maximum pe rmit ted speed w hen driv
ing with snow chains . Do not exce ed 30 mph
(SO km/h).
Use of snow chains is only pe rm itted with certain
rim/ti re combinations due to tec hnical reasons .
Chec k with an authorized A udi d ealer or author
ized A udi Service F acili ty to see if yo u may use
snow chains.
Use
fine-mesh snow chain s. They must not add
mo re t han 0.53 in (13 .5 mm) in height , including
the chain lock .
You mus t remove the snow c hains on roads with
out snow . Otherw ise, you could impair dr iving
abi lity and damage the tir es .
Wh eel s
A WARNING
Using incorrect snow chains or install ing snow
cha ins incorrectly can resu lt in loss of veh icle
control, which increases the risk of a n acci
dent.
(D Note
- Snow chains can damage the rims/wheel
cove rs* if the chains come into direct con
t act with them . Remove the wheel covers*
first . Use coa ted snow cha ins .
- Do not install and use snow c hains if the re is
a malfu nction in the a ir suspension*, be
cause the ve hicle height w ill be very low . If
yo u dr ive w ith snow chains anyway, the
w hee l ho usings and other ve hicle compo
nents can be seve rely damaged.
(0 Tips
When us ing snow chains, it m ay be usefu l to
swi tch the offroad mode o n
q page 149.
Low-profile tires
Applies to: vehicles with low-profile tires
Your vehicle is equipped with low -profi le tires* at
the factory . Compared to other tire/rim combina
tions, low-prof ile tires offer a w ider tread surface
and a larger rim diameter with shorter tire side
walls. This results in an agile dr iv ing style. How
ever, it may reduce the level of comfort and in
c rease road noise when driving on roads in poo r
cond it ion.
Low-profile t ires can become damaged more
quickly than standard tires when dr iving over
la rge bumps, potholes , manhole covers, speed
bumps and curbs. Therefo re, it is particularly im
po rtant to mainta in the co rrect ti re pressure
q poge 343.
To reduce the risk of damage to the tires and
r ims, drive very caref ully on poor roads.
Check your wheels regu larly every 2,000 mi
(3,000 km) for damage . For example, chec k for
bulges/cracks on the tires or deformations/
c racks on the rims . .,..
349

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Component Situation Solution
T ex til es
Deposits adhering to Vacuum cleaner
art ifici al leat her, the surface
A lcan tara Water-based deposits Absorbent
cloth and mild soap solutiona>
such as coffee, tea,
b lood, etc.
Oil -based deposits Apply a m ild soap solution
a), blot away the dissolved o il or
such as oil, make-up, dye, treat afterward with water, if necessary
etc.
Special deposits such Special stain
remover, blot with absorbent material, treat
as ink, nail polish, la- afterward with mild soap solution, if necessary
a)
tex paint, shoe pol-
ish, etc.
Natu ral le ath er Fresh stains Wool cloth with a mild soap solution a)
Water-based deposits Fresh stains: absorbent cloth
such as coffee, tea, dried stains: stain
remover suitable for leather
b lood , etc.
Oi [-based deposits Fresh stains: absorbent cloth and stain
remover suitable
such as oil, make-up, for leather
etc. dried stains: oil cleaning spray
Special deposits such Spot remove r suitab le for leather
as ink, nail polish, la-
tex paint, shoe pol-
ish, etc.
Care Regularly apply condit ion ing c ream that protects from
lig ht and penet rates into the material. Use specia lly-co l-
ored conditioning cream, if necessary .
Carbon part s Deposits clean the same way as plast ic parts
a) Mi ld soap solution: maximum two tablespoons of neutral soap in 1 q uart (1 liter) of water
.8, WARNING
The windshield may not be trea ted with wa
ter-repelling windshield coating agents. Un
favorable cond itions such as wetness, dark
ness, or low sun can result in increased glare.
Wiper blade chatter is also possible.
@ Note
- Headlight s/tail li ght s
-Never clean headlights or tail lights with a
dry cloth or sponge.
- Do not use any cleaning product that con
tains alcohol, because they could cause
cracks to form.
- Whe els
-
- Never use any pa int polish or other abra
sive materials .
- Damage to the protect ive layer on the
rims such as stone chips or scratches must
be repaired immediately .
-Sen sor s/cam era l enses
- Neve r use warm or hot water to remove
snow or ice from the camera lens . This
could cause the lens to crack .
- Neve r use ab rasive cleaning materials or
a lcohol to clean the camera lens. This
could cause scratches and cracks .
-Doo r window s
-Remove snow and ice on windows and ex-
terior mirrors w ith a plast ic scraper . To
357