
co
co
.... N
" N .... 0
" "' c:o
Safe driving Basics
Safe driving habits
Please remember -safety first!
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others . We have summar
ized here what you need to know about safety
be lts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Yo ur safety is for us
priority number 1. Al
ways observe the info rmation and warn ings i n
this section - for you r own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information in this sect ion app lies to all
model ve rsions of your vehicle. Some of the fea
tures descr ibed in t his sec tions may be standa rd
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others . If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
A WARNING
- Always make sure that you follow the in
struct ions and heed the WARNINGS in th is
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in
terest of your passengers .
-
-Always keep the complete Owner's Litera
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the d river and
passenge rs.
- Always keep the Owne r's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques
t ions.
Safety equipment
The safety features are part of the occupant re
straint system and work together to help reduce
the risk of injury in a wide variety of accident sit
uations.
Your safety and the safety of yo ur passenger
should not be left to c han ce. Advances in tech
nology have made a var iety of features ava ilab le
t o he lp reduce the risk of injury in an accident.
Safe d riv ing
The following is a lis t of just a few of the sa fe ty
features in yo ur Audi :
- sophisti cated safety be lts fo r dr ive r and pas -
senger seat ing pos ition,
- safety belt p re tensioners,
- safety belt force lim ite rs,
- front airbags,
- knee airbags*
- side airbags in the seats,
- specia l LATCH anchorages for child restraints,
- ad justab le steer ing colum n.
These ind iv idual safety features , ca n work to
gether as a system to he lp p rotect you and your
passenger in a w ide range of acc idents. These
f ea tures canno t work as a system if they are not
always correc tly ad justed and cor rect ly used.
Safet y is everybody's r esponsibility!
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody 's job! Vehicle and occupant
saf ety always depends on the informed and care
f1,1/ driver .
For your safety and the safety of your passenger,
before driv ing always:
.,. Make sure that all lights and s ignals are operat
ing correctly .
.,. Make sure that the tire pressure is correct .
.,. Ma ke sure that a ll w indows are clean and afford
good v isibility to the outs ide.
.,. Sec ure all luggage and othe r items c arefully
¢ page 185, ¢ page 49.
.,. Make sure that not hing can i nterfere with the
peda ls .
.,. Adj ust seat and mirro rs cor rectly for your
he ight .
.,. Make sure to use the right child restra int cor
rectly to protect children ¢
page 218, Child
safety .
.,. Sit p roper ly in you r seat a nd make sure that
your passenger do the same¢
page 47, Seats
and storage .
.,. Fasten your safety belt and wear i t properly . Al
so instruct your passenge r to fasten his safety
be lt properly
c:!:> page 189.
181

Safe driving
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver's abili
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis
tracted.
The driver is respons ible for the safety of the ve
hicle and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
vehicle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road
c:::> .&_. Therefore :
~ Do not let yourself be distracted by passenger
or by using a cellular telephone.
~ NEVER drive when your driving ability is im
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
~ Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
~ ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
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.
..&, WARNING
Impaired driving safety increases the risk of
serious personal injury 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. 152 Correct seating position
182
For 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 driver 's seat so that you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor while
keeping your knee(s) slightly bent
c:::> .&_.
~ Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive.
~ Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a d is
tance of at least 10 in (25 cm) between the
steering wheel and your breast bone
c:::>fig. 152.
If not possible, see your authorized Audi deal
ership about adaptive equipment.
~ 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.
~ Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
c:::> page 192.
~ Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in control of the vehicle at all times .
For detailed information on how to adjust the
driver's seat, see
c:::> page 47, Seats and storage.
..&, 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
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least
10 in (25 cm) between your breastbone and
the steering wheel.
-Always adjust the driver's seat and the
steering wheel so that there are at least 4 in
(10 cm) between the knees and the lower
part of the instrument panel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out
side of the steering wheel rim 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 hold the steering wheel at the
12 o'clock position or with your hands at
-

co
co
.... N
" N .... 0
" "' c:o
other positions inside the steering wheel
rim or on the steering wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause
serious injuries to the hands, arms and head if the driver's airbag inflates
- 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 against or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
- Before driving, always adjust the front seats
properly and make sure that all passengers
are properly restrained.
- Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 218. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat¢
page 196 .
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger sea ting posi tion is
important for safe, relaxed driving .
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving .
• Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat .
• Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
¢ page 192.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see¢
page 47 .
Safe driving
A WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it unfolds . To help reduce the risk of serious
personal injury:
- Passengers must always sit in an upright po
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
- Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye .
- Always make sure that there are at least
10 in (25 cm) between the front passen
ger's breastbone and the instrument panel.
- Always make sure that there are at least 4 in
(10 cm) between the front passenger's
knees and the lower part of the instrument
panel.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Before driving, always adjust the front pas
senger seat proper ly.
- Always keep your feet on the floor in front
of the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in
crease the risk of injury in a crash.
- Never drive with the backrest reclined or
tilted far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety be lt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
¢
page 218 . Special precautions apply
when install ing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
c:> page 196.
183

Safe dri ving
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are 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 effect iveness
of safety belts and w ill even increase the r isk of
inj ury and death by moving the safety be lt to crit
ical areas o f the body . Improper seating positions
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
seating position when the vehicle is being used
c:> .&_ .
The fo llowing bulletins list only some sample po
sitions that will increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death. Our hope is that these examples will
make you more aware of seating posit ions that
are dangerous .
Therefore, whenever the vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the ve hicle
- never stand on the seats
- never knee l on the seats
- never r ide with the seatback reclined
- never lean up against the instrument panel
- never sit on the edge of the seat
- never sit s ideways
- never lean out the window
- never put yo ur feet out the window
- never put yo ur feet on the instrument panel
- never rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- never ride in the footwell
- never r ide in the cargo area
A WARNING
Improper seating posit ions increase the r isk
of se rious personal injury and death wheneve r
a vehicle is being used.
184 -
Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
stay in a proper seating posit ion and are
properly restrained whenever the vehicle is
be ing used .
Driver and passenger
side footwell
Important safety instructions
A WARNING
A lways make sure that the knee airbag can in
flate without interfe rence. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accident by interfering with the
way the ai rbag dep loys o r by being pushed in
to you as the airbag dep loys.
- No persons (chi ldren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat. If the airbag deploys, this can res ult in
serious or fatal injuries.
- No objects of any kind should be carried in
the footwell area in front of the driver's or
passenger 's seat. Bu lky objects (shopping
bags, for examp le) can hamper or prevent
proper deployment of the airbag. Small ob
jects can be thrown through the vehicle if
the airbag deploys and injure you or your
passengers.
Pedal area
' Pedals
The pedals must always be free to move and
must never be interfered with by a floor mat or
any other object.
Make sure that all pedals move free ly without in
terference and that nothing prevents them from
returning to their original positions.
Only use floor m ats that leave the pedal area free
and can be secured with floor mat fasteners.
If a brake circuit fails , in creased brake pedal trav-
el is required to bring the vehicle to a fu ll stop. .,..

co
co
..... N
" N ..... 0
" "' c:o
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts are neces
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correctly. .. Read all the information that follows and heed
all of the instructions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
- Pregnant women, injured, or physically im
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely to be seriously injured if they do not
wear safety belts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mother -throughout
the entire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Audi TT Roadster has two seating positions. Each seating position has a safety belt .
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death .
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small children, into any belt .
It is espe
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sit ting on your lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts ava ilable.
Safety belts
-Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
4 Safety belt warning l ight
Your vehicle hos o warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about the importance of buckling up.
Fi g. 154 Safety belt warn ing light in the instrument clus
te r -enlarged
Before driving off, always:
.. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you wear
it properly.
.,. Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
.,. Protect children with a child restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age.
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a re
minder to fasten the safety belts . In addition, a
warning tone will sound for a certain period of
t im e.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the sing le most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
F or your protection and that of your passen
gers, a lways correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that comes on could lead to personal injury.
189

CD
CD
.... N
" N ...... 0 r--. V, co
to offer protection in those accidents in which
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they have a lready deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown out of the vehicle where even more severe or fatal injuries can occur.
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!
Fi g. 158 Driver is correctly restra ined in a sudde n braking
maneuver .
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap plied to the body in an acc ident, and help prevent
the uncon trolled movement tha t can cause seri
ous injur ies. In addi tion, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the veh icle.
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the be nefi t of bei ng slowed down more
gent ly or "softly" through the "give" in the safe ty
be lts, crush zones and other safety features engi
neered into today's vehicles . By "absorbing" the
kinetic energy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"to lerable" and less likely to cause injury.
Although these examples are based on a fronta l
coll is ion, safety belts can also substantially re
duce the risk of inj ury in other k inds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just going to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too . Accident stat istics show that vehi
cle occupants prope rly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being in ju red and a much better
chance of s urviv ing a n accide nt. Prope rly using
Safet y bel ts
safety belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col
lis ion . For this reason, wearing a sa fety be lt is le
gally required in most countries including much
of the United States and Canada.
Although your Audi is equipped with airbags, you still have to wear the safety be lts p rovided . Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not acti
vated in a ll frontal collisions, i n side and rear col
lis ions, in roll overs or i n cases where there is not
enough decelerat ion through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the othe r air bag
systems in your Aud i. So, always wear yo ur safe ty
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
prope rly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.. Always wear safety belts as i llustrated and de
scribed in this chapter .
.. Make sure that your safety be lts a re always
ready for use and are not damaged.
A WARNING
Not wear ing safety be lts o r wearing t hem im
p roperly increases the r is k of serious personal
i njury and death. Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
- Always faste n your safety belts correctly be
fore d riving off and make sure a ll passen
ge rs a re co rrectly res trained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
a lways be positioned properly o n the body.
- Never strap more than one person, includ
i n g sma ll children, into any belt.
- Never p lace a safety belt over a child sitting
on yo ur lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwe ll in front of
the seat while the veh icle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride with the ir feet on
the instrument panel or stick ing o ut the
w indow or on the seat.
191

Safe ty belts
-Never remove a safety be lt while the ve hicle
is mov ing . Do ing so will increase your r isk of
being injured or killed.
- Never wear belts twisted.
- Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob -
jects in or on your cloth ing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
- Never allow safety be lts to become dam
aged by being caught in door or seat hard
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
- Severa l layers of heavy clothing may inter
fere with cor rect positioning of belts and re
duce the overall effectiveness of t he system.
- Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the b uckle from latching
secu rely.
- Never use comfort clips or devices that cre
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe
c ial clips may be requ ired for the prope r use
of some chi ld restraint systems.
- Torn or frayed safety belts can tear and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acc i
dent. Inspect belts regula rly .
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or ret rac to rs are dam
aged, have belts repl aced by an auth orized
Audi dealer or quali fied workshop.
- Safety belt s th at have been wo rn a nd loaded
in an accident m ust be rep lace d wi th the
c orrect repl acemen t sa fety be lt by an au
t h o rized Aud i dea le r. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clear ly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded m ust al
so be inspected.
- Never remove, modify, disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself.
- Always keep t he be lts clean . Di rty be lts may
not work properly and can impai r the f unc
tion of the inertia reel¢
table Interior
cleaning on page 268.
192
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Seat first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 159 Be lt buc kle and tongue on the driver 's seat
N
CD
~ ::i: .. a,
To p rovide m axim um pro te ct io n, safety belts
must a lways be positioned co rrectly on the wear
er's body .
.., Ad just the fron t se at prope rly ¢
page 47 , Seats
and storage.
.., Pull the safety belt even ly across the chest and
pe lvis
r::!>fig. 159, ¢ _& .
.., Insert the tongue into the correct buck le of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
.., Pull on the belt to make sure that it is sec urely
latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt ret ractors
Every safety belt is equipped wit h an automatic
belt retractor on the shou lder belt . This feature
locks the belt when the belt is pulled out fast,
during hard brak ing and in an accident. The belt
may also lock when you dr ive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve . During normal driv
i ng t he belt lets you move free ly .
S afety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equ ipped w ith a belt preten
s ioner that he lps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated .
The function of the pretens ioner is monitored by
a war ning light¢
page 14 .
Convertible lock ing retractor
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertib le lock ing retrac-
tor that
mu st be used when the safety be lt is Ill>-

CD
CD
.... N
" N .... 0 r--. V, co
used to attach a child seat. Be sure to read the
important information about this feature
r::!) page 22 7.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious injury in an accident
<=>page 193,
Safety belt position.
- Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly positioned on the body.
- 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 seat in the ve
hicle
c> page 228.
(D Tips
For information on safety belt pretensioners,
refer tor::!)
page 194.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 160 Safety belt pos itio n
Safety belts
.&_ WARNING """-iiiiiiiii
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
on the abdomen. The belt should always fit
snugly
c> fig. 160. 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
I
soft tissue and cause serious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
i=;, page 191.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly- throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 161 Safety belt position during pregnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear
er's body
<=> page 193.
"'Adjust the front seat properly c> page 47, Seats
and storage.
"' 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 .161 ,r=> .&_ .
193