Safety belts
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
c> fig. 234. Pull on the belt to tighten
if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c> fig . 234. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
injuries by shifting its position on your body
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c> page 268.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expec tant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 235 Safety belt pos ition during pregnancy
To prov ide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body
c> page 269 .
.,. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly
c> page 59, 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 .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelvis and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
c:> fig. 235, ¢ ,&. .
.,. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
270
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos
sible across the pelvis and below the round
ing of the abdomen.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
c> .&. in Fasten
ing safety belts on page
269 .
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 236 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.,. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢ fig. 236. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle
¢ ,&. .
.,. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be
ing injured or killed.
Airbag syste m
The additio na l l ayers prevent the capacitive
passenger detection system from accurately
measuring the capac itance of the ch ild safe
ty seat and/or the person on the seat and
thus keep the Advanced Airbag System from
working p roperly.
- Never place or use any electrical device (such as a laptop, CD player, elect ronic
games dev ice, power inverte r or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat
if the device is connected to the 12-vol t
socket or the cigarette lighter socket . S uch
devices can infl uence the capacitance regis
tered by the capacitive passenger detection
system, so that incorrect information is pro
vided to the airbag control unit.
- If you must use a c hild restraint on the front
passenger seat and the child restraint man
ufacturer's instructions require the use of a
towel, foam cushion or something else to prope rly position the ch ild restraint, make
certain that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
~; light comes on and stays on whenever
the chi ld restraint is installed on the front
passenge r seat .
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not come on and s tay on , immediate ly
ins tall child restra int in a rea r seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspected
by you r A udi dealer.
_& WARNING
If the front passenger seat gets wet, dry it im
mediately.
- If liquid soaks into the front passenger seat,
this can keep the a irbag system from work
ing prope rly and may, for instance, deact i
vate the passenger frontal airbag. If this happens, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light will come on and stay on togethe r with
the a irbag ind icator
light E,I in the inst ru
men t cluster.
- If liquid is poo led on the seat, bu t has not
soa ked i n, this may also keep the airbag sys
tem from wo rking properly and ca use the
passenge r frontal a irbag to be enabled
(tu rned on), even though there is a properly
282
installed child rest raint system on the seat .
Wet towels or other wet things on the seat
cushion can have the same effect.
If the
front passenger fronta l airbag is turned on,
t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light light
w ill go out.
How the Advanced Airbag System
components work together
The front Advanced A irbag System and the side
airbags supp lement the p rotection offered by the
front three-point safety be lts and the adjustable
head restraints to he lp reduce the risk of injury in
a wide range of accident and crash situat ions. Be
sure to read the important i nformat ion about
safety and heed the WARNINGS in this chapter .
Deployment of the Advanced A irbag System and
the activation of the safety belt pretensioners de pend on the dece leration measured by the crash
sensors and registered by the elec tronic contro l
u nit . Crash severity depends on speed and decel
e ration as well as the mass and stiffness of the
vehicle or object invo lved in the cras h.
On the passenger side, regard less of safety be lt
u se, the front passenge r frontal airbag will be
turned off if t he e lectr ica l capaci tance m easured
by the capaci tive p assenge r detection system o n
t h e fron t passenger sea t is less th an the amou nt
programmed in t he e lec tronic cont ro l unit. The
front passenger frontal airbag wi ll also be turned
off if the capacitance measured by the system for
the front passenger seat equals that of an infant
of about one year of age in one of the child seats
that was used to certify the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem under Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208. The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
comes on and stays on to tell you whe n the front
Advanced Airbag System on the passenge r side
has been tu rned off~
page 285.
_& WARNING
To reduce the ris k of injury when an airbag in
f lates, always wea r safety belts prope rly.
- If you are un res trained, leaning forward, sit
ting sideways or out of position in any way,
your r isk of injury is much higher.
Airbag syste m
front seat p assenge r's frontal Advanced Airbag.
Th e PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light:
-will come o n if the front pa ssenger seat is not
occupied;
- will come on if the e lectr ica l capacitance meas
u red by the c apac itive passenger detec tion sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the
combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child rest raints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208 with
which the Advanced Ai rbag System in your veh i
cle was certif ied; Fo r a listing of the child re
straints that were used to cert ify your vehicle's
compliance with the U .S. Safety Standard
¢ page 297.
-will go out if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adult as reg istered by the capacitive
passenger detection system.
- T he
PAS SENG ER AIR BAG OFF~; light must
come on and s tay o n if the ignition is on and . ..
- a car bed has been insta lled on the front pas
senger seat, o r
-a rearward-fac ing ch ild restrai nt has been in
stalled on the front passenger seat , or
- a forward-facing child restra int has bee n in stal
led on the front passenger seat,
- and if the e lectrical capacitance registered on
the front passenger seat is equa l to or less than
the comb ined capac itance of a typical 1 year
o ld infant and one of the rearward-fac ing o r
fo rward -fa cing chi ld restrain ts lis ted in Federal
Motor Veh icle Safety Standard 208 with w hich
the Advanced Airbag System in yo ur vehicle was
certified .
If th e fron t passe nger seat is no t occ upied, the
front ai rbag w ill not dep loy, and the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF~;
light wi ll stay on.
Never i nstall a rearward-facing child rest raint on
t he front passenge r sea t, the safes t place for a
chi ld in any k ind of child restraint is at one o f the
seating positions on the rea r seat ¢
page 274,
Child restraints on the front seot -some impor
tant things to know
and ¢ page 295, Child safe
ty .
286
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
com es on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on when one of the condit ions listed above is
met, be sure to check the light regularly to make
certain t hat the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~;
light stays on cont inuously whenever the ign ition
i s on . If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light
does not appear on and does not stay on all the
time, stop as soon as it is safe to do so a nd
- reactivate the system by tur ning the ignit ion
off for more than 4 seconds and then tur ning it
on again;
- remove and re install the ch ild restraint. Make
sure that the child restra int is prope rly insta l
led and that the safety belt for the front pas
senge r sea t has bee n corre ct ly rou ted th rough
t he child restraint as desc ribed in the ch ild re
straint man ufact urer's inst ruc tions;
- ma ke sure that the convert ible loc king retr ac
to r on the safety belt for the front passenge r
seat has been activated and that the safety belt has been pulled tight .
- ma ke sure that no e lectrica l device (s uch as a
laptop , CD p layer , e lectronic games device,
power inverte r or seat heater for chi ld seats) is
placed or used on the front passenger seat if
the device is connected to the 12-volt socket or
the c igarette lighter socket;
- make sure that no seat heater has been retro
fitted or otherw ise added to the front passen
ger seat;
- make sure that noth ing can interfere with the
safety belt buckles and that they are not ob
struc ted;
- make sure that there are no wet objects (such
as a wet towe l) and no water or other liquids on
the front passenger seat cushion .
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light still
does not come on ...
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light st ill
does not come on and does not stay on cont in u
ous ly (when the ign ition is switched o n),
- take the child restra int off the front passenger
seat and install it properly at one of the rear
ll-
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
seats support the baby's back, neck and head in a
crash
¢ fig. 247.
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 seat. It is a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child in
a rearward-facing seat .
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly installing a
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a crash.
- Never install rear -facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem . A child will be seriously injured and can
be killed when the inflating airbag hits the
child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and smashes the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center armrest,
door or roof<=>
page 2 7 4, Child restraints on
the front seat -some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing direction. Such restraints
are designed for the special needs of infants and very small children and cannot protect
them properly if the seat is forward-facing .
- If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the front passenger seat because of exceptional circumstances and 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.
- 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
if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
302
- 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 detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- 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
c> page 295, Important information.
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 .
u co ...... N r-... N ...... 0
0
:E: '
the child restraint is installed is in an up
right position and securely latched into
place and cannot fold forward. Otherwise,
the seatback with the child safety seat at
tached to it could f ly forward in the event of
an accident or other emergency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a veh icle is
being used
c::> page 295. Specia l precaut ions
apply when installing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c::> page 2 7 4, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when
the belt is wound all the way back into the re
tractor .
~ Press the red button on the safety belt buckle.
The belt tongue will pop out of the buckle.
~ Guide the safety belt all the way back into its
stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely into
its stowed position. The safety belt can now be
used as an ordinary safety belt without the con
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should be ac
tivated inadvertently, the safety belt must be un
fastened and guided completely back into its
stowed position to deact ivate this feature. If the
convert ible locking retractor is not deactivated,
the safety belt w ill gradually become tighter and
uncomfortable to wear.
_& WARNING
-
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury and
death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deactivate
the convertible locking retractor for child re
straints while the vehicle is moving . You
Child safety
would not be restrained and could be seri
ously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
be ing used
c::> page 295. Special precautions
apply when install ing a child safety seat on
the front passenger seat
c::> page 274, Child
restraints on the front seat -some impor
tant things to know.
LATCH system (lower
anchorages and tethers
for children)
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicab le way to
attach the child restraint on the vehicle seat,
Federal regulations require special lower ancho
rages in vehicles and devices on new child re
straints to attach to the vehicle anchorages .
In the United States, the combination of the
tether anchorages and the lower anchorages is
now generally called the LATCH system for
"Lower Anchorages and Tethers for Children". In
Canada, the terms "top tether" with "lower uni
versa l anchorages" (or "lower universal anchor
age bars") are used to descr ibe the system .
In other countries the term "ISOFIX" is used to
describe the lower anchorages .
Forward-facing child restraints manufactured af
ter September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. fed
eral regulations to comply with new child head
movement performance req uirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new ch ild seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the per
formance of the child restraint and its ab ility to
pro tect the child in a collision. Installing a child
restra int that requi res a top tether without the
top tether may be a violation of state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH lower
anchorages on their child seats w ith hook-on or ..,.
309