
_& WARNING
-Safety belts are the single most effective
means availa ble to r educe the ris k of ser ious
injury and death in automobile accidents .
For your protection and that of your passen
gers, always correctly wea r safety be lts
when the veh icle is moving .
- Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that comes on could lead to persona l injury.
Why use safety belts?
Frontal collisions and the law of physics
Frontal crashes create very strong forces for peo
ple riding in vehicles.
Fig. 2 34 Unbelted occupants in a veh icle head ing for a wall
Fig. 23 5 The veh icle crashes into the wa ll
The physical principles are simple . Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess e nergy which va r
ies w ith veh icle speed and body weigh t. Engi
n eers ca ll this energy "ki ne tic e nergy."
The highe r the speed of the vehicle and the
g reater the vehicle 's we ight, the more energy
~ that has to be "absorbed " in the crash. ~ N ...... N ~ 0
'° ~ co
Safet y bel ts
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 passenge rs of this vehicle a re not us
ing sa fety belts
¢ fig . 234, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until someth ing stops them -
here, the wall
c:.-fig. 235.
T he same p rinciples apply to people sitting in a
vehicle that is invo lved in a fronta l co llision. Even
at city speeds of 20 to 30 mph (30 to 50 km/h),
the forces acting on the body can reach one ton (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 a lso not
attached to the ir vehicle. In a frontal collis ion
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 accide nts and co llisions.
269

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 \0
3 a,
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety belts can also substantially re
duce the risk of injury 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 statistics show that vehi
cle occupants properly wearing safety belts have
a lower risk of being injured and a much better
chance of su rviving a n accident. Prope rly using
safety be lts al so greatly increases the ability of
the supplemental ai rbags to do the ir job in a col
lision. For t his reason, wearing a safety belt is le
ga lly required in most countr ies including much
of the Un ited States and Canada.
A lthough your Audi is equipped with airbags, yo u
still have to wear the safety belts provided. Front
airbags, for examp le, are activated on ly in some
frontal collis ions. The front airbags are not acti
vated in all frontal coll is ions, 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 airbag
systems in you r Audi . So, always wear your safety
be lt and make sure eve rybody in you r vehicle is
p roperly restrained!
Important safety instructions about safety
belts
Safety belts must always be correctly positioned
across the strongest bones of your body.
.,. Always wea r safety be lts as illust rated and de
scribed in this chapter.
.,. Make sure that your safety belts are a lways
ready for use and are not damaged .
A 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 cor rectly restrained.
- For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
Safet y be lts
- Never strap more than one person, includ
ing small children, into any belt.
- Never p lace a safety belt
over a child sitting
on your 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 their feet on the instrument panel or stick ing 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 be lts twisted .
- Never wear be lts
over rigid or breakable ob -
jects in or on yo ur clothing, such as eye
g lasses, pens, keys, etc ., as these may cause
injury.
- Never a llow safety belts to become dam
aged by be ing ca ught in door or seat hard
ware.
- Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of pos ition.
- Several layers of heavy clothing may inter
fe re with co rrect positioning of be lts and re ·
duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
- Always keep be lt buck les 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 be lts can tear, and
damaged be lt hardware can break in an acci
dent. Inspect belts regularly. If webb ing,
b indings, buckles, or retractors are dam
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i deale r o r qualified workshop.
- Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
corre ct replacement safety belt by an au
thori zed Audi dealer. Rep lacemen t may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al
so be inspected .
- Never
remove, mod ify, disassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf .
271

Safety belts
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impa ir the func
t ion of the inertia reel
¢ table Interior
cleaning on page 364 .
Safety belts
Belt positioner
Applies to: vehicles with belt positioners
Fig. 239 Driver 's seat: Belt pos it ione r (exa mple)
The front seats are equ ipped w ith belt pos ition
ers so it is easier to fasten the safety belts . The
belt positioners automatically extend when the
door closes or the igni tion switches on.
The belt positioner returns to its starting posi
tion again when
-the tongue in the belt la tch engages or the belt
was not fastened within 60 seconds .
- you switch the ignition off.
-you open the door .
A WARNING
The belt positioners could cause injury or
damage if they p inch people or objects when
extend ing or retracting.
272
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 240 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 71, 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 ¢ _A.
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pelvis ¢ fig. 240, ¢ _A .
.. 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 sec urely
latched in the buckle .
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped with an automatic
belt retractor on the shoulder 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 drive up or down a steep
hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv
ing the belt lets you move free ly.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped w ith a belt preten
sioner that helps to tighten the safety belt and
remove slack when the pretensioner is activated
¢ page 2 75. The function of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning
light ¢ page 32 . Iii>

Convertibl e lo ck ing r etr actor
Every safety be lt except 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 important information about this feature
c::;,page 313.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c::;, page 2 73,
Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
properly pos itioned on the body.
-Always make sure that the rear seat back rest to wh ich the center rear safety belt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rea r 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 crash.
-Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buck le wi ll reduce safety belt effec
t iveness 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 secur ing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c::;, page 315 .
Safety bel ts
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 24 1 Safety belt position
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to match your body
size.
-be lt height adjustment for the front seats,
-he ight-adjustable fron t seats.
_& WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
-The shou lder belt should l ie 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 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. 241. Pu ll 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 neve r over the abdomen. Make s ure
the belt lies flat and
snug~ fig. 241. Pull on
the bel t to tig hte n if necessary.
-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
inj uries by shifting its position on your body
from the stro ng bones to mo re vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause se rious inj ury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
o ther important informat ion
c::;, page 271.
273

Safe ty belts
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
corre ctly-throughout the pregnancy.
F ig. 242 Safety be lt pos itio n during preg nan cy
To prov ide maximum protection , safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear
er's body
¢ page 273 .
... Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly¢ page 71, 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 ac ross the chest so
that it sits as low as possib le on the pelv is and
there is no press ure on the abdomen
¢ fig. 242, c:::> ,&. .
... Inse rt the tongue into the correct b uckle of
your seat until you hear it latch secure ly .
... Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly pos itioned safety belts can cause
ser ious persona l inju ry in an accident.
- Expectant mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap port ion of the safe ty belt as low as pos
sible across the pelvis and below the round
ing of the abdomen.
- Always read a nd heed all WARNINGS and
othe r important information
c:::> .&. in Fasten
ing safety belts on page 273.
274
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only ofter the vehicle hos stopped.
Fig . 2 43 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
... Push the red re lease button on the buck le
c:::> fig. 243. The belt tongue wi ll spring out of
the buck le
c:::> ,&. .
... Let the belt wind up on the retractor as yo u
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be
ing inj ured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt he ight
App lies to: vehicles wit h safety belt height ad justment
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust
ment, the three point safety belt strop routing
can be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fig . 244 Safety belt heigh t adj ustme nt - loop-a ro und fit
t ings
The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the co llar bone as poss ible and s hou ld fit well
..,.

<( a, .... N ,....
N .... 0 \0
3 a,
on the body ¢.&. in Safety belt position on
page 273.
.,. Push the loop-a round fitt ings up ¢ fig. 244 @,
or
.,. squeeze together the @ button, and push the
loop-around f ittings
do wn@ .
... Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at
tachment is proper ly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth
er important
i nformat ion ¢ page 271 .
(D Tips
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 posi tioned 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 positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effect ive
ness of safety belts and will even increase the
risk of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to crit ica l areas of the body. Imp roper seating
positions also increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and str ikes an
oc cupant who is not in the correct seating posi
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of a ll
vehicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
.,. Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
sitting position in the veh icle whi le traveling
¢ .&_ .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occupants
are correctly restra ined and stay in a correct
S afet y be lts
seating position whenever the vehicle is be
ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
i nformat ion ¢ page 271 .
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Re ver sible safety belt pr etension ers
The following fu nctions a re available when safety
belts w ith reversib le safety belt tensioners are
fastened:
- In certain driving situations, the safety belts may tighten w it h a reversible tensioning func
tion
¢ page 125.
- The safety belts may also tighten with this re-
versible tens ion ing funct ion in m ino r collisions .
Pyr otechnic s afety belt p reten sioners
Seat belts with pyrotechnic safety be lt preten
s ioners are tensioned automatically in severe col
lis ions, depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the forward motion of the occu
pants .
A WARNING
-It is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incor rec tly.
- Any wo rk on the tens ioner system or remov
al and installation of system components
for o ther repairs m ust be performed by a
qualified workshop.
- The pyro technic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech
n ic pretens ioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced .
(D Tips
-A fine dus t is re leased when the pyro technic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is nor
ma l and is not caused by a fire in the veh i
cle .
- The relevant safety requirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped. A qualified
275

Safety belt s
dealership is familiar with these regu lations
and will be p leased to pass on the informa
tion to you.
Service and disposal of safety belt preten
sioner
The safety belt pretens ioners are parts of the
safety belts on your Audi . Installing, removing,
servi cing o r repa iring of belt p retensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from working correctly in a collision.
There are some important things you have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system w ill not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause in jury or pollute the
environment .
.&_ WARNING
-
Improper care, servic ing 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 only 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 includ ing safety belt
prete nsioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures a re req uired for removal, insta l
lation and disposal of this system .
- For any work on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
tho rized Aud i dea le r o r q ualified te chnician
who has an A udi approve d repair manual,
t raining and spec ial equ ipment necessary .
@ For the sake of the environment
Undeployed airbag modu les and pretension
ers migh t be classified as Perch lorate Mate ri
al -specia l handling m ay apply, see
www .dtsc. ca.gov/hazardouswaste/pe rchlo
rate . When the vehicle or parts of the re
straint system including airbag modules safe
ty belts with pretens ioners are scrapped, all
276
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.

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in s ide or rear collisions, or in
ro llovers.
Al wa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
dep loy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first coll is ion.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
c::>page 268.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in
st rument panel will decrease the effective
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot si t mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the steering wheel, invest i
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it
t ing s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
could even be killed if you are up aga inst the
airbag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
278
-
- To reduce the risk o f injury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety belts properly
c::> page 272, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in that children age 12 or
younger always ride in the rear seat. If chil
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren ride unrestra ined or im
properly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
c::> page 259.
- Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Obje cts nea r the airbags can become
pro jecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
A irbags that have deployed in a crash must be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to read the impo rtan t in format ion and
heed the WARN INGS for impor tant deta ils
.,..