Driving sa fety
• ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
• Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours at a stretch.
• Do NOT drive when you are tired, under pres
sure or whe n you are stressed .
A WARNING
Impaired driv ing safety inc reases t he risk of
ser ious persona l inju ry and death whenever a
vehicle is being used.
Correct passenger
seating positions
Proper seating position for the driver
The proper driver seating position is important
for safe, relaxed driving .
Fig. 9 8 Correct seating pos it io n
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the driver 's seat to the following
position :
• Adjus t the dr iver's seat so tha t you can easily
push the pedals all the way to the floor whi le
keeping your knee(s) s light ly bent ~
,A.
• Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position so that your back comes in
full contact with it when you drive.
• Adjust the steering wheel so that there is a dis
tance of at least 10 inches (25 cm) between the
stee ring wheel and your breast bone~
fig. 98 .
If no t possib le, see you r authorized Aud i dea le r
about adapt ive eq uipment.
98
• Ad just the steering wheel so that the steer ing
wheel and airbag cover points at your chest and
not at yo ur face .
• Grasp the top of the steering wheel with your
elbow(s) slightly bent.
• Adjust the head restraint so the uppe r edge is
as even as possib le w ith the top of your head .
If
that is not possib le, try to adjust the head re
strai nt so that it is as close to this pos it io n as
possible.
• Fasten and wear sa fe ty belts correctly
r=>page 109.
• Always keep both feet in the footwell so that
you are in contro l of the veh icle at all t imes .
Fo r de tailed informa tion on how to ad just the
dr ive r's seat,
see r=!) page 42 .
A WARNING
Drivers who are unbelted, out of position or
too close to the airbag can be seriously in
jured by an airbag as it unfo lds. To help
re
duce the risk of serious personal injury:
- Always ad just the driver 's seat and the
steering whee l so that there are at least
10 inches (25 cm) between yo ur breastbone
and the steering wheel.
- Always hold the steering wheel on the out
side of the steering wheel r im with yo ur
hands at t he 9 o'clock and 3 o'clock posi
tions to help reduce the risk of personal i n
jury if the driver's airbag in flates.
- Never hold the stee ring wheel at the
1 2 o'cl ock position o r wi th you r hands at
o ther posi tion s in side the steer ing whee l
rim o r on the steeri ng wheel hub. Holding
the steering wheel the wrong way can cause serious inju ries to the hands, arms and head
if the drive r's airbag dep loys.
- Pointing the steering wheel towa rd your
face decreases the ability of the supplemen
tal d river 's airbag to protect you in a coll i
sion.
- Always sit in an upright pos ition and never
lean aga inst or place any part of your body
too close to the area where the airbags are
located.
-
a
co
...... N r--. N .... 0 0 ::, co
-Failure to pay attention to the warn ing light
that come 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. 102 Unbelted occupants in a vehicle heading for a wall
Fig. 103 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles are simple. Both the vehi
cle and the passengers possess energy which var ies with vehicle speed and body weight. Engi
neers call this energy "kinetic energy."
The higher the speed of the vehicle and the greater the vehicle's we ight, the more energy
that has to be "absorbed" in the crash.
Veh icle speed is the most significant factor. If
the speed doubles from 15 to 30 mph (25 to 50
km/h), the energy increases 4 t imes!
Because the passengers of this vehicle are not us
ing safety belts
¢fig. 102, they will keep moving
at the same speed the vehicle was moving just
before the crash, until something stops them -
here, the wall¢
fig. 103 .
Safety belts
The 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 accidents and collisions .
What happens to occupants not wea ring
safety belts?
In crashes unbelted occupants cannot stop
themselves from flying forward and being in
jured or killed. Always wear your safety belts!
Fig. 104 A driver not wearing a safety belt is violently
th row n forwar d
Fig. 10S A rear passe nger not wearing a safety belt will fly
forward a nd strike the driver
Unbelted occupants are not able to resist the tre
mendous forces of impact by holding tight or
bracing themselves . Without the benefit of safe
ty restraint systems, the unrestrained occupant
will slam viol ently into th e steering wheel, .,.
107
Airbag syste m
Airbag system
Important information
Importance of wearing safety belts and
sitting properly
Airbags are only supplemental restraints . For
airbags to do their job, occupants must always
properly wear their safety belts and be in a prop
er seating position.
For your safety and the safety of your passen
ge rs , before driving off, always :
"' Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ¢
page 98,
"'Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
¢ page 99,
"'Wear safety belts p roperly ¢ page 108 ,
"'Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children ¢
page 134.
In a coll is io n ai rbags must inflate wi thin the b link
of an eye and with cons iderable force . The sup
p lemental airbags can ca use injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper·
Ly. T herefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a dr iver and as a pas
senger to sit properly at all t imes .
By keeping room between yo ur body and the
steering whee l and the front of the passenger
compartment, the a irbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protect ion
in certain frontal collis ions ¢
page 98, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢ page 42.
It's especially important that children a re proper
ly restra ined
¢ page 134 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the ind iv idual safety fea
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system .
Proper seating posit ion is important so that the
front airbag on the drive r side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or cond ition that
prevents you from s itting properly on the driver
seat with the safety be lt properly fastened and
114
reaching the peda ls, special modifications to
your vehicle may be necessary.
Contact yo ur autho rized Aud i dea le r, or call A udi
C u stomer Rela tions at 1-800 -82 2-2834.
When the airbag system dep loys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, b reak open the padded cov
ers, and inflate betwee n the steeri ng wheel and
the driver and between the inst rument panel and
the front passenger . The a irbags w ill deflate im
mediate ly after dep loyment so t hat the front oc
cupants can see through the windsh ie ld again
without interruption.
A ll of th is takes p lace in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags a lso inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be i n the ir way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and lim it the occupant's forward move
ment . T ogether they he lp to prevent the driver
a nd front seat passenger from h itti ng pa rts of
t h e inside the veh icle w hile reducing the fo rces
acti ng on the occupant dur ing the cras h. In th is
way they help to reduce the risk of inju ry to the
head and uppe r body i n the crash. Airbags do not
protect the arms or the lower parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions. The trigge ring of the airbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and registered by the electronic con
tro l unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the contro l unit, the airbags
will not be trigge red, even though the car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi
cle damage, repa ir costs or even the lack of vehi
cl e damage is not necessari ly an indica tion of
whethe r an a irbag should inflate o r not.
It is not possib le to define a range of vehicle
speeds that w ill cove r every possible k ind and an
gle of impa ct that will always tr igger the airbags,
s ince the circumst ances w ill vary cons iderably be
tween one collision and another. Important fac
tors include, for example, the natu re (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angl e of
i mpact, vehicle speed, etc . The front airbags will ..,_
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00
also not inflate in side or rear coll isions, or in
ro ll-overs.
A lwa ys rememb er: Airbags will deploy only o nce,
and on ly in certain kinds of coll is ions. Your safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have a lready deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another after the first collis 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
r:::;,page 106.
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steer ing whee l or in
st rument panel will decrease the effect ive
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
o f persona l injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 10 inches (25 cm) to
the steering wheel or instrument panel.
- If you cannot sit mo re than 10 inches
( 2 5 cm) from the steering wheel, inves ti
gate whethe r adaptive equipment may be
available to help you reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by stri king
the inte rior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle d uring 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 unrest rained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it
t ing s ideways or o ut of pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in jury is mu ch h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injur ies and
c ou ld even be killed if you are up ag ainst the
airbag or too close to it w hen it inf lates -
even with an Advanced Ai rbag.
-
Airb ag sys tem
-To reduce the r is k of injury when an airbag
inflates, always wear sa fety belts prope rly
r:::;, page 109, Safety belts.
-Always make certain 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 children r ide unrestrained or im
p roperly restrained in the vehicle. Ad just the
front seats properly.
- Never ride with the back rest recl ined .
- Always sit as far as possible from the steer-
ing wheel or the instrument panel
r:::;, page 98.
-Always sit upright with your back against
the backrest of your seat .
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on t he seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre
vent ser ious injuries to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects , Items can also mo ve in to
the area of the s ide a irbag or the front air
b ag d uring braking o r in a sudden maneu
ver. Obje cts ne ar the airbags can be come
p roject iles and cause injury when an airbag
inflates .
A WARNING ,.___ -
Airbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap
proved by A udi and installed by a t rained
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 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
he ad the WARN INGS for impo rtant deta ils
115
0 co ......
"' ,....
"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
The front Advanced Airbag System supp lements
the safety belts to provide additional protection
for the driver's and front passenger's heads and upper bodies in frontal crashes. The airbags in
flate only in frontal impacts when the veh icle de
celerat ion is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the a irbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upr ight, wear ing your safe
ty belt and wear ing it properly. This is why you
and your passengers m ust always be properly re
stra ined, not just because the law requ ires you to
be .
The Advanced Airbag System i n your veh icle has
been certified to meet the " low r is k" requ ire
ments for 3 and 6 year-o ld children on the pas
senger side and very sma ll adults on the driver
side . The low risk dep loyment criteria are intend
ed to he lp reduce the risk of injury through inter
action with the front a irbag that can occur, for
examp le, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates .
In addition, the system has been certified to
comp ly w ith the "suppression" requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front a irbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in c hild re
stra ints that are listed in the Standard
~ page 136, Child restraints and Advanced Air
bags.
"S uppress ion" requ ires the front a irbag on t he
passenger side to be turned off if:
- a ch ild up to about one year of age is restra ined
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear
facing o r forward-fac ing infant restra ints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208
with wh ich the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was ce rtified. For a l isti ng of the ch ild
restraints that were used to certify your vehi
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
~ page 136,
Airb ag sys tem
-weight less than a threshold leve l stored in the
control unit is detected on the front passenger
seat.
When a person is detected on the front passen ger seat, weigh ing more than the total weight of
a chi ld that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear -facing or forward-fac ing infant re
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
208 with which the Advanced A irbag
System in your veh icle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not de
ploy.
The
PAS SEN GER AIR BA G OFF light comes on
when the electronic control unit detects a tota l
we ight on the front passenger seat that requ ires
the front a irbag to be turned off. If the
P A SSEN ·
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on, the
front airbag on the passenger side has not been
turned off by the con trol unit and can dep loy i f
the control unit senses an impact that meets the
conditions stored in its memory.
If the to tal weight on the front passenger sea t is
more than that of a typ ica l 1 year-old, but less
than the weight of a small adult, the front airbag on the passenger side may deploy (the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not come on).
For e xample , the air bag ma y deplo y if:
- a small ch ild that is heav ier than a typ ica l 1
yea r-o ld child is on the front passenger seat
(regardless of whethe r the child is in one of the
child safety seats liste d
~page 136),
-a child who has outgrown c hild rest raints is on
t he front passenge r seat.
If the front passenger a irbag is turned off, the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light in the center of
t h e in str ument pane l wi ll come on and s tay on.
The front airbag on the passenger side may
not
deploy (the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not ill umi nate and s tay lit) if:
- a small adult or teenager is on the front pas
senger seat
- a passenger who is not s itting upright with
their back against a non -reclined backrest with
their feet on the vehicle floor in front of the
seat is on the front passenger seat . .,,.
119
more. The function of the system in the front
passenger seat is checked by the electronic con
trol unit when the ignition is on . The control unit
monitors the Advanced Airbag System and turns
the airbag indicator light on when a malfunct ion
i n the system components is detected . The func
tion of the airbag indicator light is descr ibed in
greater detail below . Because the front passen
ge r seat contains important parts of the Ad
vanced A irbag System, you m ust take care to p re
vent it from being damage d. Damage to the seat
may prevent the Advanced Airbag for the front
passenger seat from doing its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following :
-Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle t hat
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System a bout the severity of the crash.
- An electronic control un it, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
contro l unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit a lso "de
c ides " whether the safety be lt pretens ione rs
sho uld be activated .
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve for the d river ins ide the s teer ing
whee l hub.
- An Advanced Airbag with gas generator and
contro l valve inside the instrument pa ne l for
the fron t passenger.
- A weig ht-sensing mat unde r the upho lstery
padding of the front passenge r seat c ushion
that meas ures the to tal weight on the sea t. The
informa tion registered is sen t continuously to
the e lectronic cont ro l unit to reg ulate dep loy
ment of the front Adv a need Ai rbag on the pas
senger side.
- An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light in the instrument cluster
¢ page 124.
-A sensor in each front seat reg isters the dis
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument pane l. The infor
o co mation reg istered is sent continuously to the ......
~ electronic control unit to regulate deployment N
8 of the fro nt Advanced A irbags . 0
:::,
00
Airb ag sys tem
-The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light comes on
and stays on in the center of the instrument
pane l¢
page 125, fig . 115 and te lls yo u when
the front Advanced Airbag on the passenger side has been turned off.
- A sensor below the safety be lt latch for the
front seat passenger to measure the tension on the safety belt. The tension on the safety belt
and the we igh t registered by the weight -sens
ing mat help the contro l unit "decide" whethe r
the front airbag fo r th e fron t passe nger seat
should be tu rned off o r not ¢
page 115, Child
restrain ts on the front seat -some impor tant
things to know.
- A sensor in the s afety be lt latch for the drive r
an d for the front seat passenger that senses
whether tha t safety be lt is la tched o r not and
transmits this information to the e lectronic
control un it.
A WARNING ,-
Damage to the front passenge r seat can pre-
vent the front airbag from working properly.
- Improper repair or disassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will prevent the
Advanced Airbag System from f unct ion ing
properly .
- Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and p roper ly trained
wo rkshop personne l.
- Never remove the front passenger or d river
seat from the vehicle.
- Never remove the upholstery from the front
passenger seat.
- Never d isassemble or remove parts from the
seat or disconnect w ires from it.
- Never carry sharp objects in your pockets or
p lace them on the seat . If the weight-sens
ing mat in the passenger seat is punctu red
it cannot work p roper ly .
- Never carry things on your lap or carry ob
jects on the passenge r seat . S uch items can
increase the weight reg istered by the
weight-sensing mat and s end the wrong in
formation to the a irbag control unit.
- Never store i tems unde r the front passenger
seat. Parts of the Advanced Airbag System
un der t he passenger se at could be
~
121
Airbag syste m
-Never h old things i n your hands or on your
lap whe n the vehicle is in use.
- Never transport items on or in the area of
the front passenger seat. Objects could move into the area of the front airbags dur
ing brak ing or other sudden maneuver and
become dangerous projectiles that can
ca use serious personal injury if the a irbags
inflate.
- Never place or attach accessor ies or other
objects (such as cupholders, telephone
brackets, large, heavy o r bulky objects) on
the doors, over or nea r the area marked
"AIRBAG" on the steering wheel, instru
ment pane l, seat backrests or between
those areas and yourself. These objects could cause injury in a c rash, especially
when the airbags inflate.
- Never recline the front passenger's seat to
transport objects. Items can also move into
the area of the side airbag or the front a ir
bag dur ing braking or in a sudden maneu
ver. Objects near the airbags can become projectiles and cause injury, particularly
when the seat is reclined.
A WARNING
The fine dust created when airbags deploy can
cause breathing p roblems for people w ith a
his to ry of asthma or o ther b reathing condi
tions .
- T o reduce the risk of brea thing problems,
those w ith asthma or o ther respiratory con
ditions should get fresh air right away by
getting out of the vehicle or o pening win
dows or doors.
- If you are in a collision in which airbags de
ploy, wash your hands and face with mild
soap and water before eat ing.
- Be careful not to get the dust into your eyes,
or into any cuts or scratches.
- If the resid ue should get into your eyes,
flush them with water .
124
Monitoring the
Advanced Airbag System
!f Airbag monitoring indicator light
Two separate indicators monitor the function of
the Advanced Airbag System: the airbag moni
toring indicator light and the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
light.
The Adva nced A irbag System as well as the side
airbags and s ide curta in a irbags w ith ejection
mitigation features (including the electronic con
tro l unit, sensors and system wiring) a re all
monitored cont inuo usly to make sure that they
are functioning properly whenever the ignition is on. Each time you turn on the ignit ion, the airbag
monitoring i ndicator light
m w ill come on for a
few seconds (self d iagnostics) .
The system mu st be inspected when the
indicator light
E,I:
- does not come on when the ignition is sw itched
on,
- does not go out a few seconds after you have
sw itched on the ignit ion, or
- comes on while driv ing.
If an airbag system malfunction is detected, the
i ndicato r light will come on to serve as a constant
reminder to have the system inspected immedi
ate ly.
If a ma lfunction occurs that turns the front air
bag on the passenger side off, the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light will come on and stay on
whenever the ignition is on.
A WARNING
A n airbag system that is not functioning prop
erly cannot provide sup plemental pro tect ion
i n a fro nta l crash.
- If the airbag ind icator light ¢
page 14
comes when the veh icle is being used, have
the system inspected immediately by your
author ized Audi dealer. It is possib le that
t he air bag will i nflate when i t is no t sup
posed to, or wi ll not inflate when it should .
0 co ......
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"' ...... 0 0 :::,
00
OFF light comes on and stays on all the time
whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not go out when an adult is sitting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, make sure the adult is
properly seated and restrained at one of the
rear seating positions .
- Have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer before transporting
anyone on the front passenger seat.
{D) Tips
If the weight -sensing mat in the front passen
ger seat detects an empty seat, the front air
bag on the passenger side will be turned off,
and
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF will stay on.
Repair, care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the airbag system are installed at many
different places on your Audi. Installing, remov
ing, servicing or repairing a part in an area of th e
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system and prevent that system from working properly in a collision .
There are some important things you have to know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system will not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or pollute the
environment.
A WARNING
Improper care, servicing and repair proce
dures can increase the risk of personal injury
and death by preventing an airbag from de
ploying when needed or deploying an airbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel horn pad or airbag cover or the in
strument panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects such as cupholders
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the airbag units.
Airbag system
-For cleaning the horn pad or instrument
panel, use only a soft, dry cloth or one mois
tened with plain water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness or strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect
properly.
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the airbag system.
-All work on the steering wheel, instrument panel, front seats or electrical system (in
cluding the installation of audio equipment,
cellular telephones and CB radios, etc.) must be performed by a qualified technician
who has the training and special equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or parts of the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side airbag can
inflate without interference:
- Never install seat covers or replacement
upholstery over the front seatbacks that
have not been specifically approved by
Audi .
- Never use additional seat cushions that
cover the areas where the side airbags in
flate.
- Damage to the original seat covers or to
the seam in the area of the side airbag
module must always be repaired immedi
ately by an authorized Audi dealer.
- The airbag system can be activated only
once. After an airbag has inflated, it must
be replaced by an authorized Audi dealer or
qualified technician who has the technical
information, training and special equipment
necessary.
- The airbag system can be deployed only
once. After an airbag has been deployed, it
must be replaced with new replacement
parts designed and approved especially for
your Audi model version. Replacement of complete airbag systems or airbag compo
nents must be performed by qualified work-
shops only. Make sure that any airbag
Ill-
127