2018 AUDI A6 seats

Driving safety
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
c> page 166. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front
passenger seat
c> page 142.
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear seat passengers must sit upright with both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the
ve­
hicle is in use.
To reduce the risk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, your passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow­
i ng:
• For adjustable head restra ints: adjust the head
restraint so the upper edge is as even as possi­
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos­
sible, try to adjust the head restraint so that it
is as close to this position as possible
c> page 128 .
• Keep both feet flat in the footwell in front of
the rear seat.
• Fasten and wear safety belts properly
c>page 137.
• Make sure that children are always properly re­
strained in a child restraint that is appropriate
for their size and age
c::> page 166.
_& WARNING
Passengers who are improperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash.
- Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat .
- Safety belts only offer maximum protection
when the safety belts are properly posi­
tioned on the body and securely latched. By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger
in­
creases the risk of personal injury from im­
properly positioned safety belts!
128
-For adjustable head restraints: always ad­
just the head restraint properly so that it
can give maximum protection.
Proper adjustment of head restraints
App lies to : vehicles with adjustable head restra ints
Correctly adjusted head restraints are an impor­
tant part of your vehicle's occupant restraint sys­
tem and can help to reduce the risk of injuries in
accident situations.
Fig. 139 Head restra int: viewed from t he front
The head restraints must be correctly adjusted to
achieve the best protection.
• Adjust the head restraint so the upper edge is
as even as possib le w ith the top of your head . If
that is not possible, try to adjust the head
re­
straint so that it is as close to this position as
possible
c> fig. 139 . Move the head restraint so
that it is as close to the back of the head as
possible.
• If the re is a passenger on the rear center seat­
ing position, slide the center head restraint
up­
ward at least to the next notch.
Adjusting head restraints
c> page 48.
_& WARNING
All seats are equipped with head restraints.
Driving without head restraints or with head
restraints that are not properly adjusted in­
creases the risk of serious or fata l neck injury
dramatically . To help reduce the risk of injury:
-Always drive with the head restraints in
place and properly adjusted.
- Every person in the vehicle must have a
properly adjusted head restraint.
-

a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J ' -Always make sure each person in the vehicle
properly adjusts their head restraint. Adjust
the head restra int so the upper edge is as
even as possible w ith the top of your head .
If that is not possible, try to adjust the head
restra int so that it is as close to th is position
as possib le. Move the head restra in t so that
it is as close to t he b ack of the he ad as pos ­
sible.
- Never attempt to adjust head restra int
w hil e d riving. If you have dr iven off and
must adjust the dr ive r headrest for any rea­
son, first stop the vehicle safely before at­
tempting to adjust the head restraint .
- Children must a lways be proper ly restrained
in a chi ld restraint that is appropriate for
their age and size
r=) page 166.
Examples of improper seating positions
Th e occupant r estraint syst em con only r educ e
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants ore properly
seated.
I mp roper seating posi tions can cause se rious in ­
jury or death . Safety belts can only work when
they ar e properly positioned on the body. Im ­
prope r seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safe ty belts and w ill even increase the r isk of
injury and death by moving the s afety belt to crit­
ical areas of the body . Improper seating posit ions
also increase the risk of ser ious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not i n the prope r seat ing pos ition. A d rive r
i s respons ible for the safety of a ll vehicle occu ­
pants and especia lly fo r children . There fore:
"' Never allow anyone to assume an inco rrect
seat ing pos it ion w hen t he ve hicle is being used
r=) & .
The follow ing bulletins list only some sample po­
sitions that will increase the risk of serious inju ry
and dea th. O ur hope is that these examp les w ill
make you more aware of seat ing pos it ions tha t
are dangerous .
Therefore, wh enever th e vehicle is moving:
- never stand up in the veh icle
- never stand on the seats
Dri ving saf ety
- never kneel on the seats
- neve r ride wit h the seatback recl ined
- neve r lie down on the seats
- neve r lean up against the instrument panel
- never s it on the edge of the seat
- never s it sideways
- never lean out the window
- never put your feet out the window
- neve r put your feet on t he instr ument pane l
- neve r rest your feet on the seat cushion or back
of the seat
- neve r ride in the footwell
- never ride in the cargo area
A WARNING
-
Imp roper seating positions inc rease the risk
of ser ious perso nal in jury and death whenever
a ve hicl e is being u sed .
- Always make sure that all ve hicle occupants
stay in a p roper seating posit ion and a re
p roperly restra ined whe never the veh icle is
be ing used.
Driver's and front
passenger's footwell
Important safety instructions
Applies to: vehicles with knee airbags
A WARNING
= -
A lways make s ure t hat the knee airbag can in­
flate w ithout interference. Objects between
yourself and the airbag can increase the risk
of injury in an accide nt by interfering with the
way t he a irbag dep loys or by be ing pushed in­
to you as the a irbag dep loys .
- No persons (ch ildren) or animals should ride
in the footwell in front of the passenger
seat . If the a irbag deploys, this can res ult in
ser io us or fatal injur ies.
- N o objects of a ny kind should be ca rr ied in
the footwell a rea in front of the dr ive r's or
p a sse nger's seat. B ulky objects (shopp ing
b ags, for exam ple) can h amper o r preven t
proper dep loymen t of the airbag . Sma ll ob ­
jects can be thrown thro ugh the vehicle if
129

Safety belts
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety be lts 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 automob ile acc idents.
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 serious ly injured if th ey 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 has a total of five seating positions:
two in the front and three in the rear. Each seat­
ing position has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
inju ry and death.
- Never strap more tha n one person, includ­
i ng small children, into any belt. It is espe­
cially dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitting on you r lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
134 -
Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
proper ly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
~ Safety belt warning light
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger (on USA models only) to remind you about the importance of buckling­
up .
Fig. 140 Safety belt warn ing lig ht in the instrument clus ­
ter
-enlarged
Before driving off , always:
.,. Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly .
U) N
"' 9 N .,. Make sure that your passengers a lso buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts .
.,. Protect children with a ch ild restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ign it ion is on as a reminder to
fasten the safety belts . In addition , you will hear
a war ning tone for a certain period of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
A WARNING
-
- Safety belts are the single most effective
means available to reduce the risk of serious
inj ury and death in automobile accidents.
Fo r your protection and that of your passen­
gers, a lways correct ly wear safety belts
when t he vehicle is moving .
- Fai lure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, cou ld lead to personal injury.

Safe ty belts
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additiona l
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equipped w ith 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
airbags are not supposed to deploy or when they
have a lready deployed. Unbel ted occupants can
a lso be thrown o ut of the ve hicle where eve n
mo re severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
It is also important for the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts co rrectly. Unbel ted passengers
i n t he re ar seats endanger no t on ly themse lves
but also the drive r and other passengers
c::> fig . 144 . In a frontal collision they will be
thrown forward violently, where they can hit and
in jure 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!
F ig . 14 5 Driver is co rrectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m aneuver
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
ence. Safety belts help to keep passengers in
their seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap­
plied to the body in an accident, and he lp prevent
the uncont rolled moveme nt that can cause seri­
ous injur ies. In addition, safety be lts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
136
Safety belts attach passengers to the car and g ive
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" thro ugh the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety feat ures engi­
neered into today 's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longe r per iod of t ime, the
safety belts make the forces on the body more "tole rab le" and less likely to cause inju ry .
Although these examples are based on a frontal
collision, safety be lts ca n also substantially re­
duce the r isk o f injury in ot her kinds of crashes.
So, whethe r you're on a long trip or just going to
the cor ne r store, a lways b uckle up and make s ure
othe rs do, too. Ac ciden t st at ist ics show that veh i­
cl e occupants prope rly wearing safety bel ts have
a lowe r risk of be ing injured and a m uch better
chance of surviving an acc ident . Properly using
safety be lts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
li sion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most countries 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 examp le, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags are not act i­
vated in all frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sio ns, in rollovers or in cases whe re there is not
eno ugh deceler ation throug h impa ct to the front
of the vehicle . The same goes for the other a irbag
systems in your Audi. So, always wear your safety belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly rest rained!
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 be lts are always
ready fo r use a nd a re not damaged .

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0 0 \,;J ' _& 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 rect ly restrained.
-For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be posit ioned properly on the body .
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small ch ildren, 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 wh ile the vehicle is being driven.
- Never let any person ride w ith their feet on
the instrument panel or st icki ng out the
window o r on the seat.
- Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Do ing so will increase your risk of
being injured or k illed.
- 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 doo r 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 be lt . However, spe­
c ial clips may be requ ired for the prope r use
of some child restraint systems.
-Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt ha rdware can break in an acc i­
dent. I nspect belts regularly.
If webbing,
bind ings, buckles, or re tractors are dam-
Safet y bel ts
aged, have belts rep laced by an authorized
Aud i dea ler 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
thor ized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary even if damage cannot be clearly
seen. Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
- Never remove, mod ify, d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourse lf.
-Always keep the belts clean . Dirty belts may
not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of th e inert ia reel
q table on page 223.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
F ig. 146 Belt buckle and tongu e on t he d river' s seat
To provide maximum protect ion, safety belts
must a lways be positioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body .
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint proper­
ly
q page 47, Seats and storage.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright posit ion and securely latched in
p lace before using the belt
q ,&. .
.. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest and
pe lvis
q fig . 146, q ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue in to the co rrect buck le of
your seat unt il you hear it latch securely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is sec urely
latched in the buckle.
..,
1 37

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0 0 <..:l ' 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 pregnan cy.
F ig. 148 Safety belt pos itio n during pregnancy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
must always be posit ioned correctly on the wear­
er 's body
r=> poge 138.
.,. Adjust the front seat and adjustable head re­
straint* correctly ¢
page 47, Seats and stor­
age .
.,. Pull the safety belt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as poss ib le on the pelv is and
there is no pressure on the ab domen
¢ fig. 148, ¢ .(D. .
.,. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rec t buckle of
your seat until you hea r it latch secure ly .
.. Pull on the be lt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buck le .
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts can cause
ser ious personal injury in an accident.
- Expectant mothers must always wear the lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­
ing of the abdomen.
- Always read a nd heed all WARN INGS and
other important information
c:> .&. in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 138.
Safet y bel ts
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only
o~er the vehicle hos stopped.
F ig . 14 9 Releasing th e to ngue from the buckle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r=> fig . 149. The belt tongue w ill spring out of
the
buck ler=> .(D. .
.. Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position .
A WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt wh ile the vehicle is
moving . Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
i ng injured or killed .
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment, the three point safety belt strop routing
con be fitted to the shoulder area, according to
body size.
Fi g. 1 50 Safety belt height adj ust m ent fo r th e fro nt seats
-loop -arou nd fitt ings
0 ..... N 0 :i: The shoulder be lt shou ld lie as close to the center
of the co ll ar bo ne as possible and shou ld fit well
o n the body
c:> LD. in Safe ty belt position on
page 138.
..,.
139

Safe ty belt s
~ Push the loop -around fittings up ¢ fig. 150 @,
or
~ squeeze together the (D button, and push the
loop-around fittings
do wn@ .
~ Pull the belt to make sure that the upper at­
tachment is properly engaged .
A WARNING
Always read and heed all WARNINGS and oth­
er impo rtant informat io n
¢page 136.
(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 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 .
Imp roper seating posit ions reduce the effect ive­
ness of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
risk of injury a nd deat h by mov ing the safety bel t
t o cr it ica l areas of the body. Imp roper sea ting
positions a lso increase the risk of serio us inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the correct seating posi ­
tion. A driver is responsible for the safety of all
ve hicle occupants and especia lly for children.
Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to ass ume an inco rrect
s itting position in the vehicle wh ile trave ling
¢A .
A WARNING
Improperly wor n safety be lts increase the risk
of se rious personal injury a nd death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
- Always make sure that a ll vehicle occupa nts
are co rrect ly restra ined and stay i n a co rrect
sea ting pos it ion wheneve r the veh icle is be­
ing used.
140
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other impo rtant
informat ion¢ page 136.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Reversible safety belt tensioners*
The following functions a re availab le when safety
belts w ith reversib le safety belt tensioners a re
fastened:
- Automatic tens ioners: at the start of a drive,
the safety belts automat ica lly adjust to t he
passenger after a ce rtain time per iod or ve hicle
speed. To switch t he a utomat ic tens ioners off,
select the follow ing in t he M MI :
!CARI function
button
> ( Car )* sy stem s > Vehicle settings >
Seats > Driver 's seat or Passenger' s seat > Au­
tomatic belt tensione r
> Off.
-In certain driving situations, the safety belts
may tighten wit h a reversib le tensioning func ­
tion
c> page 94.
- The safety be lts may also tighten with this re -
vers ible tension ing funct ion in m inor collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat bel ts with py rotechnic safety be lt p reten ­
s ione rs are tensioned automati cally in severe col ­
li sions, depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the forwa rd motion of the occu ­
pants.
A WARNING
- It is possible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrect ly.
- Any work on the tens ioner system or remov ­
al and installation of system components
for other repairs m ust be performed by a
qua lified workshop.
- The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collis ion. If t he py rotech­
n ic pretens ione rs deploy, the pretensioning
system must be rep laced.

a co .... N
" N .... 0 0 \.J ' also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro llovers .
Always re memb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
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
deploy, 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 airbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
<=:> page 134 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l o r i n­
st rument panel w ill decrease the effe ct ive­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never si t close r than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the stee ring w heel or instr ument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
(25 cm) from the s teeri ng wheel, invest i­
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
availab le to he lp you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All ve hicle occupants and especia lly children
must be restrained proper ly 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 unrestra ined o r imp roperly restrained
c hild is also at greate r risk of inju ry o r death
t h rough contact with an inflating airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, lean ing fo rwa rd, s it­
ti ng s ideways or o ut of pos it ion in any way,
yo ur risk of i njury is m uch higher.
- Yo u will also receive se rious injur ies and
c ou ld eve n be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag o r too close to it w hen it in flates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
-
Airbag syste m
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inf lates, always wear safety belts prope rly
r=;, page 137, Safety belts.
- Always make certain that children age 12 or
younge r always ride in the rear seat. If chil­
dren are not properly restrained, they may be severely injured or killed when an airbag
i n flates.
- Never let c hildren r ide unrestra ined or im­
properly restrained in the vehicle . Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride w ith the backrest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument pane l
r=;, page 126.
-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 bot h feet
on the floor in front of t he seat to help pre­
vent ser ious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine t he fron t passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also move into
the area of the s ide airbag or the front air­
b ag d uring brak ing o r in a sudden ma neu ­
ve r. Obje cts near the a irbags can be come
p rojecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inf lates .
A WARNING ,..__ -
Airbags that have deployed in a cras h m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original eq uipment airbags ap ­
proved by A udi and insta lled by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
d iagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effect iveness in a crash.
- Never permit salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in you r vehicle.
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.. Be s ure to read the impo rtant info rmat io n and
heed the WARN INGS for important deta ils
143