2018 AUDI A4 ECU

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
-Take the child restraint off the front passen­
ger seat and install it properly at one of the
rear seat positions if the
P ASS ENGER A IR
BA G
OFF~; light does not stay on .
-Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately .
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for the Ad­
vanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correc t use of child safety sea ts substan tially re­
duces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety
of everybody in the vehicle, especially children:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for each
child and a lways use it
properly ~ page 301.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer 's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child safe­
ty seat .
~ When using the vehicle safety be lt to install a
child safety seat , you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety be lt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
¢ page 306.
~ Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 301 .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re­
stra ined fo r their age and size.
_& WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improper ly installing a
Ch ild safety
child restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death.
-All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestra ined or improperly
restrained child could be injured by striking
the inter ior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle dur ing a sudden maneuve r or impact .
An unrest rained or improperly restrained
child is a lso at greater r is k of injury or death
through contact w ith an inflating a irbag.
-Commerc ially availab le child safe ty seats
are requi red to comply with U.S . Federal
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
-When buying a child restra int, select one
that fits your ch ild and the vehicle .
-Only use child restraint systems that fully
contact the flat portion of the seat cush­
ion. The ch ild restraint must not t ip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recom­
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro­
vide adequate contact with the seat.
-Always heed all lega l requirements per­
ta ining to the insta llation and use of child
safety seats and carefu lly follow the in­
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you are using .
-Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 mete rs) to wear a normal safety be lt.
They must a lways be restrained by a proper
child restraint system. Otherwise, they
could sustain injuries to the abdomen and
neck areas during sudden braking maneu­
vers or accidents .
-Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
-Never let babies or o lder children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another
passenger .
-Holding a child in your arms is never a sub­
stitute for a chi ld restrain t system .
- The strongest person cou ld not ho ld the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acci­
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the vehicle and can also be struck by the passenger.
299

-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
~; light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer immediately.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Fig. 248 Schemat ic overv iew: keep unused s-afety belts
away from children in chil d safety seats. @· oute r rear
sa fety belt,
@ -center rear safety bel t
If a chi ld safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especia lly with LA TCH universal lower anchorag­
es, the unused safety belts
must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot reach
them
c::> ,& .
-Gui de the safety belt webbings @ and @ be­
hind the head restra int of the seat where the
child restraint is installed
c::> fig. 248. When do­
ing so, do not engage the convertible lock ing
retractor! You should not hear a "click ing"
sound when w inding up the safety belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing .
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with the
LATCH lower anchorages or with the standard
safety belt or a child in a booste r seat on the
rear seat could play with unused rear seat
safety belts and become entangled. This
cou ld cause the chi ld serious personal injury
and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety belts
out of reach of children in child seats such
as by proper ly routing them aro und the
Child safety
head restraint of the seat where the child
restraint is installed .
- Never activate the convertible locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts around
the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear seat­
ing position if the center rear safety belt has
been routed around a rear head restraint.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old and
20 lbs. or
9 kg need special rearward-facing
child restraints that support the back, neck and
head in a crash.
Fig. 249 Schem atic overv iew: rearward -fac ing infa nt seat ,
proper ly insta lled o n the rear seat
., When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertib le locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the chi ld safety seat from moving
c::> page 306 or install the seat using the LATCH
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your full
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward or sideways
more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
., Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page301.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs . or 9 kg) are
best protected in special infant carriers and child
safety seats designed for the ir age group. Many
expe rts be lieve that infants and small children
shou ld ride only in special res tra ints in wh ich the
child faces the back of the vehicle. These infant
..,.
301

Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats can
help protect toddlers and children over age one
who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9 and 18 kg)
in a crash.
Fig. 250 Schematic overv iew: insta llatio n of the attach­
ments applicab le to a LATCH seat
Fig. 251 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the seat using
the vehicle 's safety belt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install a
child safety seat, you must first activate the
convertible locking retractor on the safety belt
to prevent the child safety seat from moving
Q page 306 or install the seat us ing the LATC H
attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety belt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward o r sideways
more than one inch (2.5 cm)
Q page 306.
.. If the child safety seat is equipped with a tether
strap, attach it to the tether anchors
Q page 312.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Qpage 301 .
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old and
weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg).
Child safety
To ddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more than
20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always
be properly restrained in a child safety seat certi­
fied for their size and weight
Q fig. 250 and
q fig . 251.
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 is a
very dangerous place for an infant or a larger
child in a rearward-facing seat .
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the wrong
child safety seat or improperly instal ling a
chi ld restraint increases the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision or oth ­
er emergency situation.
-Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates.
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety seat
installed on the front passenger seat will be
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
-The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carr ier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child
against the backrest, center armrest, door
or roof.
-Al ways install rear-fa cing child safety seats
on the rear seat .
-If you must insta ll a rearward facing child
safety seat on the front passenger seat be­
cause of excep tional circumstances and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '-I; light does not
come on and stay on, immediately insta ll
the rear-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the a irbag system
inspected by your Audi dealer .
-The rear side of the ch ild safety seat shou ld
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the veh icle seat. Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
f icult to install the child seat with the head
303

Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs . (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft.
9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall.
Fig. 252 Rear seat; chi ld proper ly restrained in a booster
sea t
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most
children until they are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about 80 lbs.
(36 kg). Booster seats raise these children up so
that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt
can help protect them in a crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to restrain
a chi ld on a booster seat .
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the cen­
ter of the child's collar bone as possible and
must lie fla t and snug on the upper body.
It
must never lie across the throat or neck. The
lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never
across the stomach or abdomen. Make sure the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to tight­
en if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a boos­
ter seat on the front passenger seat , you can
use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r:=>page 301.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs. or
18 kg) are best protected in child safety seats
de­
signed for their age and we ight. Experts say that
the skeletal structure , part icularly the pelvis , of
these children is not fully developed, and they
Child safety
must not use the vehicle safety belts without a
suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in appro­
priate booster seats. Be su re the booster seat
meets all applicab le safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass across
the child's body in the right places. The routing of
the belt over the chi ld's body is very important
for the ch ild's protection, whether or not a
boos­
ter seat is used. Children age 12 and under must
always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildr en who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/
1.45 meters) tall can generally use the vehicle 's
three point lap and shoulder belts . Never use the
lap belt portion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone
to restrain any ch ild, regard less of how big the
ch ild is. Always remember that childr en do not
have the pronounced pelvic structure required for
the proper function of lap belt portion of the
ve­
hicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . T he
child's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and
as low as possible around the pe lvis. Never let
the lap belt portion of the safety belt pass over
the child 's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink of
an eye and with considerab le force. In order to do
its job, the airbag needs room to inflate so that it
will be there to protect the occupant as the
occu­
pan t moves forward into the airbag .
A vehicle occ upant who is out of position and too
close to the a irbag gets in the way of an inflating
airbag. When an occupant is too close , he or she
will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly even fata l injury .
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especially
any children, who must be in the front seat
be­
cause of exceptiona l circumstances, be properly
restrained and as far away from the airbag as
poss ible. By keeping room between the child 's
..,.
305

Child safety
body and the front of the passenger compart­
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and pro­
vide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions.
.,&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster
seat improperly, incorrectly installing a boos­
ter seat or using the vehicle safety belt im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death in a collision or other emer­
gency situation. To help reduce the risk of se­
rious personal injury and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a
child's body will cause severe injuries in an
accident or other emergency situation
¢ page 263 .
-The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re­
move the rear seat head restraint if it is dif­
ficult to install the child seat with the head
restraint in place
¢page 67. 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.
- Never let a child put the shoulder belt under
the arm or behind the back, because it could
cause severe injuries in a crash.
- Children on the front seat of any car, even
with Advanced Airbags, can be seriously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat,
for example the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a child leaning for­
ward, sitting sideways or out of position in
306
any way during an accident can be struck by
a deploying airbag. This will result in serious
personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of exceptional
circumstances the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
fj,;; light must come on and stay on,
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF fj,;; light
does not come on and stay on, perform the
checks described ¢
page 283, Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System.
- 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~; light does not stay on whenever
the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when­
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used¢
page 263, Safety belts,
¢ page 2 71, Airbag system and
¢ page 295, Important information.
Securing child safety
seats
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front pas­
senger can be locked with the convertible locking
retractor to properly secure child safety seats.
The safety belts for the rear seats and for the
front passenger's seat have a convertible locking
retractor for child safety seats. The safety belt
must be locked so that belt webbing cannot un­
reel. The retractor can be activated to lock the
safety belt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loosening up during normal driving . A child
safety seat can only be properly installed when
the safety belt is locked so that the child and
child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remember : Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all children, especially those 12 years and younger,
should always ride in the back seat properly re-
strained for their age and size.
ll-