2018 AUDI Q5 warning

Driving safety
A WARNING
Heavy loads will influence the way your vehi­
cle handles . To help reduce the risk of a loss
of control leading to serious personal injury:
- Always keep in mind when transporting
heavy objects, that a change in the center of
gravity can also cause changes in vehicle
handling:
- Always distribute the load as evenly as
possible.
-Place heavy objects as far forward in the
luggage compartment as possible.
- Never exceed the Gross Axle Weight Rating
or the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating specified
on the safety compliance sticker on th e driv­
er's side B-pillar. Exceeding permissible
weight standards can cause the vehicle to
slide and handle differently .
- Please observe information on safe driving
<=) page 252.
A WARNING
To help prevent poisonous exhaust gas from
being drawn into the vehicle, always keep the
rear lid closed while driving .
- Never transport objects larger than those
fitting completely into the luggage area be­ cause the rear lid cannot be fully closed .
- If you absolutely must drive with the rear lid
open, observe the following notes to reduce
the risk of poisoning:
- Close all windows,
- Close the sunroof*,
-Open all air outlets in the instrument pan-
el,
- Switch off the air recirculation,
- Set the fresh air fan to the highest speed .
A WARNING
Always make sure that the doors, all win­
dows, the sunroof* and the rear lid are se­
curely closed and locked to reduce the risk of
injury when the vehicle is not being used .
-After closing the rear lid , always make sure
that it is properly closed and locked.
258
-Never leave your vehicle unattended espe­
cially with the rear lid left open. A child
could crawl into the vehicle through the lug­
gage compartment and close the rear lid be­
coming trapped and unable to get out . Be­
ing trapped in a vehicle can lead to serious
personal injury.
- Never let children play in or around the vehi­
cle .
- Never let passengers ride in the luggage
compartment . Vehicle occupants must al­
ways be properly restrained in one of the
ve­
hicle 's seating positions.
@ Note
If you are transporting large items with the
backrest folded down*, you should remove
the Rear Seat Entertainment (RSE)* and its
holder* to avoid damage.
© Tips
-Air circulation helps to reduce window fog­
ging. Stale air escapes to the outside
through vents in the trim panel. Be sure to
keep these slots free and open .
-The tire pressure must correspond to the
load. The tire pressure label lists the recom­
mended cold tire inflation pressures for the
vehicle at its maximum capacity weight and
the tires that were on your vehicle at the
time it was manufactured. For recommend­ ed tire pressures for normal load condi­
tions, please see chapter
Q page 336 .
Tie-downs
The luggage compartmen t is equipped with four
t ie-downs to secure luggage and o ther i tems.
Use the tie-downs to secure your cargo properly
Qpage 25 7, L oading the luggage compartment.
In a collision , the laws of physics mean that even
smaller items that are loose in the vehicle will
become heavy missiles that can cause serious in­
jury. Items in the vehicle possess ene rgy which
vary with vehicle speed and the weight of the
item . Vehicle speed is the mos t significant fac tor .
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For examp le, in a frontal collision at a s peed o f
30 mph (48 km/ h), the forces act ing o n a 10-lb
(4. 5 k g) object are abo ut 20 times the no rma l
weight of the item. Th is means that the weight
of t he item would suddenly be abo ut
200 lbs . (90 kg) . You can imagi ne the injuries
that a 200 lbs . (90 kg) item fly ing free ly throug h
the passenge r compart men t could ca use in a col ­
lision like this .
_& WARNING
-
Weak , da maged or improper stra ps us ed to
s e cu re i te m s to t ie-downs can fail during hard
brak in g or i n a co llision and cau se seriou s per­
sonal injury .
- Alw ays use su it a ble mounting str aps and
prope rly secure item s to the tie-downs in
t h e lu gg age compartment t o help prevent
items from s hifting or f lying fo rwa rd as dan­
gerous missiles.
- When th e rea r seat backrest is folde d down,
always use su itab le mounting stra ps an d
prope rly secure items t o th e tie -d owns in
t he l ugg age compartmen t to he lp pre ven t
it em s from flyi ng fo rw ar d as dang erou s
mi ssiles into t he pass eng er com partment .
- N ev er attac h a chi ld saf ety se at t ether s trap
t o a tie-do wn.
Reporting Safety Defects
Applicable to U.S.A.
If you believe that your vehicle
has a defect which could cause a
crash or could cause injury or
death, you should immediately in­
form the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) in
addition to notifying Audi of
America, Inc.
If NHTSA receives similar com­
plaints, it may open an investiga-
Driving safety
tion, and if it find s that a safety
defects exists in a group of
vehicles, it may order a recall and remedy campaign. However,
NHTSA cannot become involved in
individual problems between you,
your dealer, or Audi of America, Inc .
To contact the NHTSA, you may either call:
Tel.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY: 1-800-424-9153) or
1-800-424-9393
or you may write to: NHTSA
U .S. Department of Transporta­
tion
1200 New Jersey Ave., S.E .
West Building
Washington, DC 20590
You can al so obtain other infor­
mation about motor vehicle safe ­
ty from :
http: / /www.safercar.gov
Applicable to Canada
If you live in Canada and you be­
lieve that your vehicle has a de-
fect that could cause a crash, in­
jury or death, you should immedi­ ately inform Transport Canada, Defect Investigations and Recalls .
..,.
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Safety belts
General information
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter exp lains 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 s ingle most effective
means ava ilable to reduce the risk of serious
injury and death in automobile accidents.
For your protection and that of your passen­
gers, always correctly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving.
-Pregnant women, injured, o r physically im­
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
like ly to be seriously injured if they 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 Aud i 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 wear ing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
inju ry and death.
- Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt.
It is espe­
cia lly dangerous to place a safety belt over a
child sitt ing on you r lap.
- Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
Safety belts
- Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly 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 to remind you about the importance of buckling-up.
Fig. 222 Safety belt warn ing ligh t in the instrument clus ·
te r - en larged
Before driving off, always:
• Fasten your safety belt and make sure you are
wearing it properly.
"' 0 ,:.
;;i;
• Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
• Protect ch ildren with a child restraint system
appropr iate for the size and age .
The warning light . in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignit ion is switched on as a re­
minder to fasten the safety belts . In add ition,
you w ill hear a warn ing 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 effect ive
means available to red uce the risk of serious
i njur y and death in automobile accidents.
F or your protection and that of yo ur passen­
gers, a lways correct ly wear safety belts
when the vehicle is moving .
- Fail ure to pay attention to the warning light
that comes on cou ld lead to personal injury.
261

Safety belts
& WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im­
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death . Safety belts can work only
when used correctly .
-Always fasten your safety belts correctly be­ fore driving off and make sure all passen­
gers are correctly restrained.
-For maximum protection, safety belts must
always be positioned properly on the body.
-Never strap more than one person, includ­
ing small children, into any belt .
-Never place a safety belt over a child sitting
on your lap.
- Always keep feet in the footwell in front of
the seat while the vehicle is being driven .
-Never let any person ride with their feet on
the instrument panel or sticking out the
window or on the seat.
-Never remove a safety belt while the vehicle
is moving . Doing so will increase your risk of
being injured or killed .
- Never wear belts twisted.
-Never wear belts over rigid or breakable ob-
jects in or on your clothing, such as eye
glasses, pens, keys, etc ., as these may cause
injury.
-Never allow safety belts to become dam­
aged by being caught in door or seat hard­
ware .
-Do not wear the shoulder part of the belt
under your arm or otherwise out of position.
-Several layers of heavy clothing may inter­
fere with correct positioning of belts and re­ duce the overall effectiveness of the system.
-Always keep belt buckles free of anything
that may prevent the buckle from latching
securely .
-Never use comfort clips or devices that cre­
ate slack in the shoulder belt. However, spe­
cial clips may be required for the proper use
of some child restraint systems.
-Torn or frayed safety belts can tear, and
damaged belt hardware can break in an acci­
dent . Inspect belts regularly .
If webbing,
bindings, buckles, or retractors are dam-
264
aged, have belts replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
-Safety belts that have been worn and loaded
in an accident must be replaced with the
correct replacement safety belt by an au­
thorized Audi dealer. Replacement may be
necessary
even if damage cannot be clearly
seen . Anchorages that were loaded must al­
so be inspected.
-Never remove, modify , d isassemble, or try
to repair the safety belts yourself .
-Always keep the belts clean. Dirty belts may not work properly and can impair the func­
tion of the inertia
reel¢ table Interior
cleaning on page 346.
Safety belts
Fastening safety belts
Safety first -everybody buckle up!
Fig. 228 Belt buckle and tongue on the drive r'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 56, 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 across the chest and
pelvis
¢ fig . 228, ¢ ,& .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely.
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is securely
latched in the buckle.
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Automatic saf ety belt retractor s
Every safety be lt is equ ipped with an automatic
be lt retractor on the shoulder belt. Th is feature
l ocks the belt when the belt is pull ed out fast,
during hard braking and in an accident. The be lt
may a lso lock when you drive up or down a steep
h ill or through a sharp curve. During normal driv­
ing the belt lets you move freely .
Safety be lt pret en sioner s
Safety belts with pretensioners he lp to tighten
the safety belt and remove slack when the pre­
tensioners are activated
c:> page 267. The func­
tion of the pretensioner is monitored by a warn­
i ng light
<=> page 26 .
Con vertible loc king retract or
Every safety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a convertible locking retrac­
tor that
m ust be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read
the important information about this feature
<=>page 302 .
A WARNING
Improperly posit ioned safety be lts ca n cause
ser ious injury in an accident
c:> page 265,
Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection only
when the seatback is upright and belts are
prope rly pos itioned on the body.
-Always ma ke sure tha t the rear seat bac k­
rest to wh ich the center rear safety be lt is
attached is secure ly latched whenever the
rear center safety belt is being used. If the
backrest is not securely latched, the passen­
ger will move forward with the backrest dur­
ing sudden braking, in a sudden maneuver
and especially in a cras h.
-Never attach the safety belt to the buckle
for another seat. Attaching the belt to the
wrong buckle w ill reduce safety belt effec­
t iveness and can cause serious personal in­
jury.
-A passenger who is not properly restrained can be seriously in jured by the safety be lt it­
self when it moves from the stronger parts
Safet y bel ts
of the body into critical areas like the abdo­
men .
-Always lock the convertible locking retractor
when you are securing a child safety seat in
the vehicle
c:> page 304.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting maxi­
mum protection from safety belts.
Fig. 229 Safety belt pos it ion
Standard features on your vehicle help you adjust
the position of the safety belt to ma tch your body
s iz e.
-belt height adjustment for the front seats,
-height-adjustable front seats.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
se rious personal injury in an acc ident.
-The shou lder belt should lie as close to the
center of the collar bone as possib le and
should fit well on the body. Ho ld the belt
above the latch tongue and pull it evenly
across the chest so th at it sits as low as pos­
sible on the pe lvis and there is no p ressure
on the abdomen . The belt should a lways fit
snug ly
c:> fig. 229. Pu ll on the belt to tighten
if necessary .
-The lap be lt portion of the sa fety belt must
be positioned as low as possible across pel­
vis and never over the abdomen. Make sure
the belt lies flat and snug
c:> fig. 229. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
-A loose-fitting safety belt can cause serious
in juries by shifting its position on your body
ll>
265

Safe ty belts
from the strong bones to more vulnerable,
soft tissue and cause ser ious injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
r=> page 263.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make sure
that expectant mothers always wear safety belts
correctly -throughout the pregnancy.
Fig. 230 Safety belt pos ition duri ng pregnancy
To prov ide max imum protection, safety belts
m ust always be positioned correctly on the wear ­
er's body
r=> page 265 .
.,. Adjust the fro nt sea t and head restra int cor­
rec tly ¢ page 56, Front sea ts .
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat bench
is in an upright position and secure ly latched in
place before using the belt .
.. Pull the safety be lt evenly across the chest so
that it sits as low as possible on the pelv is and
there is no pressure on the abdomen
¢ fig . 230, r=> .&, .
.. Inse rt the tongue into the cor rect b uckle of
you r seat until you hea r it latch secure ly .
.,. Pu ll on t he be lt to make sure tha t it is securely
latched in the buck le.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety be lts can cause
serious persona l inju ry in an accident.
-Expec tan t mothe rs must a lways wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos­
sible across the pelvis and below the round­ ing of the abdomen .
266
-Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important
i nformat ion¢ A in Fasten­
ing safety belts on page 265.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 2 31 Releasing the to ngue from t he buckle
.,. Push the red re lease button on the buck le
¢ fig. 231. The belt tongue w ill spr ing out of
t he buck le
r=> & -
.. Let the bel t wind up o n the retra ctor as yo u
guide the bel t tongue to its stowed position.
A WARNING
N ever unfasten safety be lt wh ile the vehicle is
moving. Do ing so will increase your r isk of be­
ing injured or killed.
Adjusting safety belt height
With the aid of the safety belt height adjust­
ment , the three point safety belt strap routing
can be fi tted to the shoulder area, according to
body size .
Fig . 23 2 Safety belt heigh t adjus tment -loop -arou nd fit ­
tings
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The shoulder belt should lie as close to the center
of the collar bone as possib le and should fit well
on the body
c> A in Safety belt position on
page 265.
~ Push the loop-around fittings up c> fig . 232 @,
or
~ squeeze together the @ button, and push the
loop-around fittings down@ .
~ 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 important informat ion
c> page 263.
(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 positions reduce the effect ive­
n ess of safety be lts and will even inc rease the
ris k of injury and death by mov ing the safety belt
to cr it ic al areas of the body. Imp roper sea ting
positions also increase the risk of serious inj ury
and death when an airbag deploys and strikes an
occupant who is not in the co rrect seating posi ­
tion . A driver is respons ible for the safety of all
ve hicle occupants and espec ia lly for children.
Therefore:
~ Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect
s itting position in the veh icle wh ile traveling
c> &_ .
A WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts inc rease the risk
of serious personal injury and death wheneve r
a vehicle is be ing used.
Safet y be lts
- Always make sure that all veh icle occupants
are cor rectly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be­ ing used.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important informat ion
c> page 263.
Belt tensioners
How safety belt pretensioners work
Reversible safety belt pretensioners
T he following fu nctions a re availab le w hen safety
belts w it h reversib le safety bel t tensione rs ar e
fas tened:
- I n certa in driv ing s ituations, the safety belts
may tig hten w it h a reve rsib le tensioning func ­
t ion
c> page 112.
-The safety be lts may also t ighten with this re-
ve rs ible tens io ni ng f un ct io n in m ino r collisions.
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat belts with pyrotechnic safety be lt preten ­
sioners are tensioned automatically i n severe col·
lis ions, depending on the circumstances . This
helps to reduce the fo rwa rd motion of the occu­
pants.
A WARNING
r----
- I t is poss ible for the pretensioners to dep loy
incorrectly .
- Any wo rk on the tens ioner system or remov­
al and installation o f system components
for other repairs must be performed by a
qualified wor kshop.
- The pyrotechnic 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 dust is re leased when the pyrotechnic
safety belt pretensioners dep loy. This is nor­
ma l and is not caused by a f ire in the veh i-
cle.
..,
267

Safe ty belt s
- The re levant safety req uirements must be
observed when the vehicle or components
of the system are scrapped . A qualified
dealersh ip is familiar with these regulations
and will be p leased to pass on the informa­
tion to you .
Service and disposal of safety belt preten­
sioner
The safety be lt prete nsione rs are parts of t he
safety belts on your Audi. Installing, removing,
servicing or repairing of belt pretensioners can
damage the safety belt system and prevent it
from wo rking co rrect ly in a collision.
There are some important t hings yo u have to
know to make sure that the effectiveness of the
system wi ll not be impaired and that discarded
components do not cause injury or poll ute the
env ironment.
A WARNING -
Improper care, serv icing 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
va ting i t unexpectedly :
- The pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
can on ly be act ivated once.
If py rotechnic
safety belt pretensioners have been ac tivat­
ed, the system must be rep laced .
- Never repair, adjust, or change any parts of
the safety be lt system.
- Safety belt systems in cl ud ing safety be lt
pretens ioners cannot be repaired. Special
procedures are req uired for removal, insta l­
lation and disposal of this system.
- For any wor k on the safety belt system, we
strongly recommend that you see your au­
thorized Audi dea ler or q ualified technician
who has an Audi approved repair manual,
training and spec ial equ ipment necessary.
@ For the sake of the environment
Undep loyed airbag modu les and pretension ­
ers might be classified as Perch lorate Materi­
al -specia l handling may apply, see
www.dtsc .ca.gov/hazardouswaste/perchlo-
2 68
rate. When the vehicle or parts of the re ­
straint system including airbag modu les safe­
ty belts with pretensioners are scrapped, all
applicable laws and regulations must be ob­
served. Your authorized Aud i dealer is familiar
with these requirements and we recommend
that you have your dealer perform this service
for you.