2018 AUDI A4 Owners Manual

Safety belts
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo­
ple riding in vehicles .
Fig. 228 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle headi ng fo r a wall
Fig. 229 T he vehicle c rashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi­
cle and the passengers possess energy which var­ ies w ith vehicle speed and body weight . Engi­
neers call this energy "k inetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the
greater the vehicle's weight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Vehicle speed is the most significant factor .
If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 times!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us­
ing safety
belts ~ fig. 228, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, unti l something stops them -
here, the
wall ~ fig. 229.
The same principles apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is involved in a frontal collision . Even
at c ity speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton
264 (2,000 lbs.
or 1,000 kg) or more . At greater
speeds, these forces are even higher.
People who do not use safety belts are also not
attached to their vehicle. In a frontal collision
they will also keep moving forward at the speed
their vehicle was travelling just before the crash.
Of course, the laws of physics don't just apply to
frontal collisions, they determine what happens in all kinds of accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wearing
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in­
jured or killed . Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 230 A drive r not wea ring a safety belt is vio len tly
t hrow n fo rward
Fig. 231 A rear passe nge r not wear ing a sa fety belt will f ly
forward an d str ike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to res ist the tre­
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves. Without the benefit of safe­
ty restraint systems, the unrestra ined occupant
will slam violently into the steering wheel, in­
strument panel, windshield, or whatever e lse is
in the
way ~ fig. 230. T his impact with the vehi ­
cle interior has all the energy they had just be-
fore the crash.
liJJ,-

Never rely on airbags alone for protection. Even
when they deploy, airbags provide on ly additional
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped with airbags, all vehicle occupants, in­
cluding the dr iver, must wear safety belts cor ­
rectly in order to minimize the risk of severe in­
jury or death in a crash .
Remember too, that airbags will deploy only
once and that your safety belts are always there
to offer protect ion in those accidents in w hich
a ir bags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have already deployed. Unbelted occupants can
also be thrown o ut of the vehicle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur.
It is also important for the rear passengers to
wear safety belts correctly . Unbelted passengers
in the rear seats endanger not only themse lves
but also the driver and other passengers
¢ fig. 231. In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
injure the driver and/or front seat passenger .
Safety belts protect
People think it's possible to use the hands to
brace the body in a minor collision . It 's simply
not true!
Fig. 232 Driver is correct ly restra ined in a sudden b rak ing
maneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a big differ­
ence. Safety belts he lp to keep passengers in
thei r seats, gradually reduce energy leve ls ap­
plied to the body in an acciden t, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri ­
ous injuries. In addition, safety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety belts
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being slowed down more
gently or "softly" through the
"give" i n the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi ­
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
kinetic ene rgy over a longer period of time, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more
"tolerab le" and less likely to ca use injury .
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts can also substantially re ­
duce the r isk of injury in other k inds of crashes.
So, whether you're on a long trip or just go ing to
the corner store, always buckle up and make sure
others do, too. Acciden t statist ics show that vehi­
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of surviving an accident . Properly using
safety belts also greatly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lision. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries including much
of the United States and Canada .
Although your Aud i is equipped with airbags, you
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear col­
lisions , in rollovers or in cases where there is not
enough deceleration through impact to the front
of the vehicle. The same goes for the other air bag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly 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 illustrated and de­
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are always
ready for use and are not damaged.
265

Safety belts
_& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly.
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
-For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
-Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven.
-Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
-Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
-Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc., as these may cause
injury.
-Never allow safety belts 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.
-Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­ duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
-Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
-Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
-Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
266
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
-Never remove, modify , disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia reel¢
table Interior
cleaning on page 356.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 233 Belt buckle and tongue on the driver's seat
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the wear­
er's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly¢
page 65, 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
q ,&. .
.. 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 r etractors
Every safety be lt is equ ipped wi th an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is p ulled out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The belt may also lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
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
c:> page 269. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c:> page 32.
Con vertible loc king retractor
Every safety belt exc ept the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
mu st be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the impo rtant information about this feature
c:> page 306.
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:> page 267,
Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upr ight and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
-Always ma ke sure tha t the rear sea t bac k­
rest to wh ic h t he cente r rea r safety be lt is
attached is secure ly 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
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a cras h.
-Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle w ill red uce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
-A passenger who is not p roperly restrained
can be seriously in ju red by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger par ts
Safet y bel ts
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
c:> page 308.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 23 4 Safety belt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to ma tch your body
s iz e.
-be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
-he ight-adjustable front seats .
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can ca use
se rious personal injury in an acc ident.
-The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body . Ho ld the belt
above the latch to ngue and pull it evenly
across the chest so th at it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdomen . The belt should a lway s fit
snug ly
c:> fig. 234. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
-The lap be lt portion of the sa fety 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 tighte n if necessary.
-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
in ju ries by shifting its position on your body
~
267

Safe ty belts
from the strong bones to more vulnerable ,
soft tissue a nd cause ser ious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
information¢ page 265.
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. 235 Safety belt pos ition duri ng pregnancy
To prov ide max imum protection , safety belts
m ust always be positioned correctly on the wear ­
er's
body ¢ page 267.
.,. Adjust the fro nt seat a nd head restraint cor­
rec tly ¢ page 65, Front sea ts .
,.. Make s ure 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 pelv is and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
¢ fig. 235, ¢ .&_.
.,. Insert the tongue into the cor rect b uckle of
you r seat until you hear it latch secure ly.
,.. Pu ll on t he be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched i n the buck le.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
serious persona l injury in an accident.
-Expec tant mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
268 -
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
informat ion¢ & in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 267.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
Fig. 23 6 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
.,. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
¢ fig. 236. The belt tongue w ill spri ng out of
t he buck le
¢ .&, .
.,. Let the belt wind up o n the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
_& WARNING
Never unfasten safety be lt wh ile the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fit ted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fig . 2 3 7 Safety belt heigh t adj us tm ent -loop -arou nd fit­
tings
Sf 0 0 0
CJ Sf m

a co .... N ..... N .... 0 0
3 co
The shoulder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit w ell
on the bod y ¢
A in Saf ety belt position on
page 267 .
.. Push the loop- around fittings up ¢ fig . 237 @,
or
.. sque ez e to gether the @ button, and push the
loop-around fit tings
do wn@ .
.. Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is p roperly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er important
i nformat ion ¢ page 265.
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 safety belts can cause se ­
vere injuries .
Wearing safety belts improperly can cause seri­
ous injury or death . Safety belts can only work
when they are correctly pos itioned on the body .
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive­
n ess of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury and death by mov ing the safety bel t
to cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occ upant who is not in the co rrect s eat ing posi­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of all
vehicle occupants and espec ia lly for children .
T herefore:
.. Nev er permit anyone to ass ume an incorr ect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
¢ &, .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts i ncrease the risk
of serious personal injury and death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
S afet y be lts
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­ ing used .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
i nformat ion¢ page 265.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Reversible safety belt pr etensioners
T he following fu nctions a re availab le w hen safety
bel ts w it h reversib le safety bel t tensione rs a re
f astened:
- In ce rtain driving situations , the safety belts
may tighten w it h a reversib le tensioning func ­
tion ¢ page 120.
-The safety be lts may also tighten with this re-
versible tens ion ing f un ct ion in m ino r colli sions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretens ioners
Seat belts with pyrotechnic safety belt preten ­
sioners are tensioned automatically i n severe col·
lisions , depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the fo rwa rd motion of the o ccu­
pants.
A WARNING
r-----
- I t is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrectly .
- Any wo rk on the tens ioner system o r remov­
al and installation of system components
for other repairs m ust be performed by a
qualified wor kshop.
- The pyrote chnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the py rotech­
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced .
(D Tips
- A fine dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is no r­
ma l and is not caused by a f ire in the veh i-
cle.
..,
269

Safety belt s
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualif ied
dealership is familiar with these regulations
and will be p leased to pass on the informa­
tion to you .
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety be lt pretens ioners are pa rts of the
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repair ing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking co rrectly in a collision .
There are some important things yo u have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
syst em will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
env ironment.
A WARNING
Improper care, serv icing and repair proce­
dures can increase the r isk of personal injury
and death by preventing a safety belt preten­
sioner from activating when needed or acti­
vating it unexpectedly :
- The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
can on ly be act ivated once.
If pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners have been activat­ ed, the system must be rep laced .
- Never repair, adjust , or change any parts of
the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems in cl ud ing safety be lt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are req uired for removal, insta l­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
tho rized Audi dea ler or q ualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual ,
training and spec ial equ ipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
270
r ate. When the vehicle or parts of the re­
straint system including airbag modu les safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob ­
served. Your authorized Audi dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you .

a co .... N ,....
N .... 0 0
3 co
Airbag system
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 255,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
¢page 256,
.,. Wear safety belts properly¢ page 265,
.,. 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 255, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 65.
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>
271