2018 AUDI Q5 Owners Manual

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Never rely o n airbags a lone fo r protection . Even
when t hey deploy, airbags provide on ly additiona l
protection. Airbags are not supposed to dep loy in
all kinds of accidents. A lthough your Audi is
equ ipped 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 protection in those acc idents 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 vehi cle where even
more severe or fatal injur ies can occur .
I t is also important for the rear passenge rs to
wear safety belts corre ctly . U nbel ted passengers
in the re ar seats endanger no t onl y themse lves
but also the driver and ot he r p assengers
¢ fig. 226. In a fronta l 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. 22 7 Driver is correct ly restra ined in a s udden b rak ing
maneuve r
Safety belts used properly can make a b ig d iffer­
e nce. Safety belts he lp to keep passenge rs in
thei r seats, gradually reduce energy levels ap ­
p lied to the body in an ac cid en t, and h elp p reven t
the uncon trolled movement tha t can cause seri ­
ous injuries . In addition, safety belts reduce t he
danger of being thrown out of the vehicle .
Safet y bel ts
Safety be lts attach passengers to the car and g ive
t h em the benefit of being s lowed down more
gently or "soft ly" th rough the "give" in the safety
belts, crush zones and other safety features engi­
neered into today 's vehicles. By "absorbing" the
k inetic ene rgy over a longer period of t ime, the
sa fe ty belts make the fo rces on the body more
"tolerab le " and less likely to ca use in jury.
Although these examples are based on a frontal collision, safety be lts ca n also substa ntia lly re ­
duce the r is k of injury in ot her k inds of crashes.
So, whethe r you're on a long tr ip or just go ing to
t h e cor ner store, a lways b uck le up and make sure
othe rs do, too. A cciden t st atis tic s show tha t ve hi­
cl e occupan ts properly wea ring safety bel ts have
a lower risk of be ing injured and a muc h better
chance of surviving an acci dent . Properly using
sa fety belts also great ly increases the ability of
the supp lemental airbags to do their job in a col­
lis ion. For this reason, wearing a safety belt is le­
gally required in most count ries includ ing 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 example, are activated only in some
frontal collisions. The front airbags a re not ac ti­
vated in a ll frontal collisions, in side and rear co l­
li sio ns, in rollove rs o r in cases whe re there is not
eno ugh deceleration throug h impact to the front
of the veh icle. The same goes for the othe r airbag
systems in your Audi . So, always wear your safety
belt and make sure everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained !
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 and are not damaged.
263

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.

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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
gers, before driving off, always:
.,. Adjust the driver's seat and steering wheel
properly ~ page 253,
.,. Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
~page 254,
.,. Wear safety belts properly ~page 263,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children¢
page 291.
In a collision, airbags must inflate within the
blink of an eye and with considerable force. The
supplemental airbags can cause injuries if the
driver or the front seat passenger is not seated
properly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to
do its job, it is important, both as a driver and as
a passenger to sit properly at all times.
By keeping room between your body and the
steering wheel and the front of the passenger
compartment, the airbag can inflate fully and
completely and provide supplemental protection in certain frontal
collisions¢ page 253, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 56.
It's especially important that children are proper­
ly
restrained ¢ page 291.
There is a lot that the driver and the passengers
can and must do to help the individual safety fea­
tures installed in your Audi work together as a
system.
Proper seating position is important so that the
front airbag on the driver side can do its job. If
you have a physical impairment or condition that prevents you from sitting properly on the driver
seat with the safety belt properly fastened and
Airbag system
reaching the pedals, or if you have concerns with
regard to the function or operation of the Ad­
vanced Airbag System, please contact your au­
thorized Audi dealer or qualified workshop, or call Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for possible modifications to your vehicle.
When the airbag system deploys, a gas generator
will fill the airbags, break open the padded cov­ ers, and inflate between the steering wheel and
the driver and between the instrument panel and
the front passenger. The airbags will deflate im­
mediately after deployment so that the front oc­
cupants can see through the windshield again
without interruption.
All of this takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
airbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in their way when they deploy. Front airbags in
combination with properly worn safety belts slow
down and limit the occupant's forward move­
ment. Together they help to prevent the driver
and front seat passenger from hitting parts of
the inside of the vehicle while reducing the forces acting on the occupant during the crash. In this
way they help to reduce the risk of injury to the
head and upper body in 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 triggering of the airbag system de­
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collision and registered by the electronic con­
trol unit . If this rate is below the reference value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even though the car may be badly damaged as a result of the collision. Vehi­
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi­
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an airbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances will vary considerably between one collision and another, it is not possi­
ble to define a range of vehicle speeds that will
cover every possible kind and angle of impact
that will always trigger the airbags. Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
impact, vehicle speed , etc. The front airbags will
.,.
269

Airbag syste m
also not inflate in side or rear co llisions, or in
ro llovers .
Always rememb er: Airbags will deploy only once,
and on ly in ce rtain k inds of coll is ions. Yo ur safety
be lts are always there to offer protection in those
situations in which airbags are not supposed to
deploy, or when they have already deployed; for
examp le, when your vehicle str ikes or is struck by
another vehicle after the first col lision.
This is just one of the reasons why an airbag is a
supp lementary restraint and is not a substitute
for a safety belt. The a irbag system works most
effect ively when used with the safety belts.
Therefore, always properly wear your safety belts
¢ page 261 .
A WARNING
Sitting too close to the steering wheel o r in­
st rument panel will decrease the effective­
ness of the airbags and will inc rease the risk
of personal injury in a co llision.
- Never sit closer than 1 0 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, invest i­
gate whether adaptive equipment may be
available to help yo u reach the pedals and
increase your seating distance from the
steering wheel.
- All vehicle occupants and especially children
must be restrained properly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or improperly
restra ined child could be injured by striking
the interior or by being ejected from the ve­
hicle during a sudden maneuver or impact.
An unrestrained or imp roperly restrained
child is also at greate r risk of inju ry or death
through contact with an infla ting airbag.
- If you are unrestrained, leaning fo rwa rd, s it­
t ing s ideways or o ut o f pos ition in any way,
yo ur risk of in ju ry is much h igher.
- Yo u will also receive serious injuries and
c ould even be killed if you are up aga inst the
air bag or too close to it when it inflates -
even with an Advanced Airbag.
270
-
- To reduce the r is k of i njury when an a irbag
inflates, always wear safety belts prope rly
¢ page 264, Safety belts.
- Always make certa in 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
inflates.
- Never let ch ildren r ide unrestra ined or im­
properly 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
¢page 253 .
-Always sit upright w ith your back against
the backrest of your seat.
- Never p lace your feet on the instrument
panel or on the seat. Always keep both feet
on the floor in front of the seat to help pre­
vent serious injur ies to the legs and hips if
the airbag inflates.
- Never recl ine the front passenger's seat to
transpo rt objects . Items can also mo ve into
the area of the s ide airbag or the front air­
bag du ring brak ing o r in a sudden maneu­
ver . Obje cts nea r the airbags can become
pro jecti les and cause injury when an airbag
inflates.
A WARNING
Airbags that have deployed in a crash m ust be
replaced.
- Use on ly original equipment airbags ap­
proved by Audi and installed by a trained
technician who has the necessary tools and
diagnostic equipment to properly replace
any airbag in yo ur vehicle and assure system
effectiveness in a crash.
- Never perm it salvaged or recycled airbags to
be installed in your vehicle .
Child restraints on the front seat - some
important things to know
.,. Be s ure to re ad the impo rtan t in format ion an d
hee d the WAR NINGS for impo rtant deta ils
..,.