Driving safety
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
- Children must always ride in child seats
c:> page 170. Special precautions apply
when installing a child seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 146 .
Proper seating positions for passengers in
rear seats
Rear sea t passengers must si t upright wi th both
feet on the floor consistent with their physical
size and be properly restrained whenever the
ve
hicle is in use.
To reduce the r isk of injury caused by an incorrect
seating position in the event of a sudden braking
maneuver or an accident, yo ur passengers on the
rear bench seat must always observe the follow
i n g:
• For adjustable head restra ints: adjust the head
r estra int so the uppe r edge is as even as poss i
ble with the top of your head. If that is not pos
sible, try to ad just the head restra int so th at it
is as close to this position as possib le
c:> page 132 .
• Keep both feet flat i n the footwell i n front of
the rear seat.
• Fas ten and wear safety belts properly
c:> page 141.
• Make sure that children are always properly re
strained in a ch ild restraint that is approp riate
for their size and age
c::> page 170 .
_& WARNING
Passengers who are imp roperly seated on the
rear seat can be seriously injured in a crash .
- E ach passenger m ust always sit on a seat o f
their own an d properly fas ten and we ar the
safe ty belt belongi ng to that sea t.
- Safe ty belts only offe r m aximum p rotection
when the safety belts are properly posi
tioned on the body and securely latched . By
not sitting upright, a rear seat passenger
in
c reases the risk of personal in ju ry from im
properly positioned safety belts!
132
- 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
acciden t situations.
Fig. 141 Head rest ra in t: v iewed from t he front
The head rest raints must be corre ctly adjus ted to
a chieve t he best protec tion .
• Adjust the head rest ra int so the upper edge is
as even as possib le w ith the top of you r head . If
t ha t is no t possib le, try to adjus t the head
re
strai nt so that it is as close to this pos it ion as
possible
c:> fig. 141 . Move the head restraint so
that it is as close to the back of the head as
possible .
• If there is a passenger on the rear center seat
ing position*, slide the center head restraint *
upward at least to the next notch .
Adjust ing head restraints
c:> page 48.
_& WARNING
All seats are equipped w ith head restraints .
Driving w ithout head restraints or w ith head
rest raints that are not prope rly adj usted in
creases the r is k of se rious or fata l neck injury
d ramat ica lly . To help reduce t he risk of injury:
- Always drive with the head restra ints in
place and prope rly adjusted.
- Every pe rson in the vehicle must have a
proper ly adjusted head restraint .
-
a co .... N
" N .... 0 00 \.J '
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
~ page 170.
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
~& -
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
133
Safety belts
Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapte r exp lains why safety be lts a re neces
sary, how they work and how to adjust and wear
them correct ly.
~ Read all the information that follows and heed
all of t he instr uctions and WARNINGS.
A WARNING
Not wea ring safety belts or wearing them im
properly inc reases the risk of ser io us personal
inju ry and dea th.
- Safety belts are the s ingle most effective
mea ns ava ila bl e to reduce t he ris k of ser ious
injury and dea th in automob ile acc idents.
Fo r yo ur pro tec tion an d that of your passe n
gers, alw ays co rre ctly wea r sa fe ty be lts
whe n the veh icle is mov ing.
- Pr egnan t wome n, in ju re d, o r physically i m
paired perso ns m us t al so use s afety be lts.
L ik e all ve hicl e o ccupa nts, they are mor e
li ke ly to be serio usly i nju re d if th ey d o no t
wea r safety be lts. The best way to protect a
fetus is to protect the mothe r
-th roughout
the ent ire pregnancy.
Number of seats
Your Aud i has a total of four seating positions:
two in the front and two in the rear. In some
ve hicles, there are f ive seating positions: two in
the front and three i n the rea r. Each sea ting pos i
t ion has a safety belt.
A WARNING
Not wearin g s afety bel ts or weari ng the m im
p ro perly in cr eas es th e risk of ser io us person al
inju ry and dea th.
- N ever strap mo re th an on e person, inclu d
i ng sm all childr en, into an y be lt .
It is espe
ci ally d angerous to pla ce a sa fety bel t over a
c h ild sitting o n you r lap .
138 -
Never let more peop le r ide in the vehicle
than there are safety be lts available.
- Be s ure everyone ridin g in t he vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
be lt or c hild 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. 142 Safety belt wa rning lig ht in th e inst rume nt clus
ter
-e nl arged
Before driving off , always :
~ Fasten yo ur safety belt an d ma ke sure you are
wearing it prope rly.
and properly wea r the ir safety belts.
~ Protect ch ild ren w ith a c hild restraint system
app ropr iate for the size and age .
The wa rning lig ht . in the inst rument cluste r
li ghts up w hen the ig nition is o n as a rem inder to
fasten the safety bel ts . In addi tion, you w ill 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 -
- Sa fety belt s are th e sing le mo st effecti ve
means av ail able to reduc e the risk of ser ious
in jur y and de ath in a utom obile accide nts.
Fo r your p rotec tion and t hat o f yo ur p ass en
ge rs, a lways cor rect ly wear safety belts
w hen t he ve hicle is moving .
~
Safe ty belts
instrument panel, windshield, or whatever e lse is
in the way
r:!> fig. 145. This impact with the vehi
cle interior has all the energy they had just be
fore the crash.
Never rely on airbags alone for protection . Even
when they deploy, airbags provide only additiona l
protection. A irbags 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 veh icle 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 correctly. 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 . 146 . 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 7 Driver is co rrectly restrai ned in a sudde n brak ing
m aneu ver
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-
140
plied to the body in an accident, and help prevent
the uncontrolled movement that can cause seri
ous injuries. In addition, sa fety belts reduce the
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle.
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and give
them the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" through the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi
neered into today's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inet ic energy over a longer 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 istic s 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 a ll frontal collisions, in side and rear co l
li sio ns, in rollovers or in cases whe re there is not
eno ugh decelerat ion 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 for use a nd a re not damaged .
a co ,...,
N
" N ,...,
0 00 <..: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. 150 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 142.
.,. 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. 150, ¢ .(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 142.
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 . 1 51 Releasing th e to ngue from the buckle
.. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
r=> fig . 151. 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 52 Safety belt height adj ust m ent fo r th e fro nt seats
-loop -arou nd fitt ings
0 ..... N 0 :i:
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 142.
..,.
143
Safe ty belt s
~ Push the loop -around fittings up ¢ fig. 152 @,
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 140.
(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 belt
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 correct ly restra ined and stay i n a co rrect
sea ting pos it ion wheneve r the veh icle is be
ing used.
144 -
Always read and heed all WARNI NGS and
other impo rtant
informat ion¢ page 140.
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 t ime 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 95.
- 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 00 \.J '
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 138 .
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
<=:> page 141, 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
<=:> page 130.
-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
147
Airbag syste m
about children and Advanced Airbags
¢page 170 .
Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equ ipped with an Ad
vanced Ai rbag System, make certain that all chi l
dren, especially those 12 years and younger, al
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained for
their age and size. 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
seat . It ca n be a very dangerous place for an in
fant or a c hild in a rea rwa rd-fac ing seat.
The Advanced Airbag System in your veh icle has
been cert ified to comply with the requ irements
of United States Federal Moto r Vehicle Safety
Standard ( FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor
Ve hicle Safety Standa rd (CMVSS) 208 as applica
b le at the time your veh icle was ma nufactu red.
Acco rding to requi rements, the front Advanced
Airbag System on the passenger side has been
certifi ed for "suppression" for infants of about
12 month old and younger and for "low risk de
p loyment" for children aged 3 to 6 years o ld (as
defined in the standard) .
Th e
PASSENGER AIR BAG O FF light in the instru
ment panel tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off by the electronic control un it .
Each time yo u switch on the ignition, the
PAS·
S ENGER AIR BAG OFF
light will come on for a
few seconds and:
- will stay on if the front passenger seat is not
occupied,
- will stay on if the electrical capacitance meas
u red by the capacitive passenger detection sys
tem for the front passenger seat equals the combined capacitance of an infant up to about
one year of age and one of the rearward-facing
or forward-facing child restraints listed in Fed
eral Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208 with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in
yo ur vehicle was ce rt ified. For a listing of the
c hi ld rest raints t hat we re used to ce rtify yo ur
vehicle 's compliance with the Safety Standard
¢ page 172 .
148
-w ill stay on if there is a sma ll child o r chil d re
straint on the front passenger seat,
- w ill go off if the front passenger seat is occu
pied by an adu lt as registered by the capacitive
passenger detection system ¢
page 158, Mon
itoring the Advanced Airbag System.
The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF lig ht comes on
when e lectrica l capacitance registered on the
front passenger seat is equal to or less t han the
combined capacitance of a typical
1 year-old in
fant and one of the rearward-facing or forward
facing child restrai nts listed in Federa l Motor Ve
hicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 208 with which
the Advanced A irbag System in yo ur vehicle was
ce rt ified.
If the to tal e lectr ica l capacitance registered o n
the front passenger seat is more than that of a
typ ical 1 yea r-old ch ild but less than the weight
of a sma ll adult, the front airbag on the passen
ger side can deploy (the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light does no t come on).
If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not
come on, the front airbag on the passenger s ide
has not been turned off by the electroni c con trol
u nit a nd can dep loy if the con trol unit senses an
i mpact t hat meets the cond itions stored in its
memory.
For exampl e, the airbag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ical 1
year-old child is on the front passenger seat (regard less of whethe r the child is in one of t he
child seats listed
¢ page 172), or
- a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
the front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on in the
i nst rument cluster and stays on .
If the front passenger a irbag deploys, the Feder
al Standard requires the airbag to meet the "low
risk" deployment cr iteria to reduce the r isk of in
j u ry th rough interact ion w ith the airbag .
"Low
risk " dep loyment oc curs in t hose crashes tha t
t a ke place at lowe r decele ra tions as defined in
t h e e lec tronic co ntro l unit
¢ page 158 , PASSEN-
GER AIR BAG OFF light.
..,_