
Seats and stor age
Seats and storage
General information
A WARNING
See c> page 179, Safe driving for important
information, tips, suggestions and warnings
that you should read and follow for your own
safety and the safety of yo ur passengers .
Front seats
Power seat adjustment
Applies to vehicles with power adjustable seats
Fig. 49 Fro nt seat: power seat ad jus tm en t
CD -lumbar s upport o r mult ifunct ion button*
c> page 47. T o adjus t the lumbar s upport, press
the button in the applicable location.
@ -Moving the seat up/down: p ress the button
upward/downwa rd . To adjust the front seat cush
ion, press the front button up/down. To adjust
the rear seat cushion, press the rear button up/
down.
@ -Moving the sea t fo rwa rd/back: press the but
ton fo rward/back.
@ -Adjusting the backrest angle : press the but
ton fo rwa rd/back.
© -Lengthening/shortening the upper th igh sup
port* : lift the grip handle.
A WARNING
- Only adjust the front seat when the vehicle
i s sta tionary. Otherwise, this increases the
risk of an accident
46
- The power front seats can also be adjusted
when the ignition is switched off. For this reason, children should never be left unat
tended in the vehicle because they could be injured.
- Exercise caution when adjust ing the seat
he ight. Unsupervised or ca reless seat ad
justment can pinch fingers or hands caus ing
in ju ries .
- The front seat backrests must not be re
clined too far back when d riving, because
this impa irs the effect iveness of the safety
be lts and a irbag sy stem, whi ch in creases
the risk of in jury.
- To m inimi ze the r isk of inj ury dur ing s udden
braking or a collision, the dr iver and the
front passenger must not drive or ride with
the backrest in the reclined position. The
safety belts and a irbag system can o nly pro
vide the greatest protection possible when
the backrests are in the upright posit ion and
the safety belts are worn correctly. The more a backrest is reclined, the greater the
risk of injury due to an incorrect seating po
si tion and safety belt posit ion .
Adjusting bucket seats
App lies to: vehicles with bucket seats
Fig. SO B uck et se at: ad jus tin g the se at
CD-Mov ing the seat forward/back : pull the lever
and s lide the seat .
@-Moving the seat up/down : pull/p ress the lev-
er.
..,_

Airbag system
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 180,
.,. Adjust the front passenge r's seat properly
~ page 181,
.,. Wear safety belts p roperly ~ page 189,
.. Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect chi ldren
~ page 216.
In a coll is ion airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup
p lemental airbags can cause 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 your 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
coll isions ¢ page 180, Correct
passenger seating positions .
For details on the
operation of the seat adjustment controls
¢page 46.
It's especially important that children are proper
ly restrained
¢page 216 .
There is a lot that the driver and the passenger
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 driver 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
194 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
thori zed Audi dea ler or qualified workshop, or
ca ll Audi Customer Relations at 1-800-822-2834
for poss ible modifications to your vehicle .
When the airbag system dep loys, 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 . Th e a irbags w ill deflate im
med iate ly after deployment so that the front oc
cupants can see t hrough the windsh ield aga in
without interruption.
All of th is takes place in the blink of an eye, so
fast that many people don't even realize that the
a irbags have deployed. The airbags also inflate
with a great deal of force and nothing should be
in the ir 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 passenger from hitting parts of the inside
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 lowe r parts of the body.
Both front airbags will not inflate in all frontal
collisions . The triggering of t he a irbag system de
pends on the vehicle deceleration rate caused by
the collis ion and regis tered by the electronic con
trol unit . If this rate is be low the refe rence value
programmed into the control unit, the airbags
will not be triggered, even tho ugh t he car may be
badly damaged as a resu lt of the co llision . Vehi
cle damage, repair costs or even the lack of vehi
cle damage is not necessarily an indication of
whether an a irbag should inflate or not.
Since the circumstances wi ll vary considerab ly
between one collision and another, it is not possi
ble to define a range of veh icle speeds that will
cover every poss ible kind and angle of impact
that w ill always trigger the airbags . Important
factors include, for example, the nature (hard or
soft) of the object which the car hits, the angle of
im pact , vehicle speed, etc. The front airbags will
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Cl 00 .-< N r-N .-< 0 r-Vl 00
A WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must in
stall a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat:
- Always make sure the forward-fac ing seat
has been designed and certified by its man
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a pas
senger front and s ide a irbag.
- Never put the forward-facing child restraint
up against or ve ry near the instrument pan
el.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest position in the up and down ad
justment range and move it back to the
re ar most position in the se at's fore and aft
adjustment range, as fa r away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restraint .
-Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i
t ioned.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
To red uce the risk of serious in jury, make s ure
that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
w ill be displayed whenever a child restra int is
installed on the front passenge r seat and the
ign ition is swi tched on.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light
does not stay on, perfo rm the che cks descri
bed
¢ page 205, Monitoring the Advanced
Airbag System .
-Have the airbag system inspe cte d by your
Audi dealer imme diately.
- Always caref ully follow instru ctions from
ch ild res tra int m anufa ctu rers when instal
ling child restraints .
Airbag syste m
A WARNING
--
If, in exceptional c ircumstances, you must in
stall a forward or rearward-facing child re
stra int on the fron t passenger 's seat :
- Imp roper installat ion of child restraints can
reduce the ir effectiveness or even prevent
them from providing any pro tect ion .
- An improperly installed child restra int can
interfere wi th the airbag as it deploys and
serio usly injure or even kil l the chi ld -even
wit h an Advanced A irbag System.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child seat or
earner.
- Always make sure that there is noth ing on
the front passenge r seat tha t will cause the
capacitive p assenge r de te ction system in
the sea t to signal to the Airb ag System th at
the seat is occup ied by a person when i t is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitt ing on the seat. The presence of addi
tional objects could cause the passenger
front ai rbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or cou ld cause the ai rbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it wou ld
h ave wo rked withou t the objec t on the seat.
197

Cl 00 .-< N r--N .-< 0 r--Vl 00
adjustment range, as far away from the air
bag as possib le, before insta lling the for
ward-facing child restra int.
- Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is beh ind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the chi ld restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly pos i
t ioned.
- Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that w ill cause the
capacit ive passenger detection system in
the seat to signa l to the Airbag System that
the seat is occupied by a person w hen it is
not, or to sign al that it is occ upied by some
one who is heavier than t he pe rson actua lly
sitting on the seat . The presence of addi
tiona l objects could ca use the passenge r
front airbag to be turned on when it shou ld
be off, or could cause the airbag to work in a
way that is different from the way it would
have worked wi tho ut the object on t he seat .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ~; light comes on and stays on all the
t ime w henever the ignition is sw itc hed on.
Advanced Airbag System components
The front passenger seat in you r vehicle has a lot
of very impo rtant parts of the Advanced Airbag
Sys tem in it. These pa rts in cl ude the capaci tive
passenger detection system, w iring, brac kets,
and more. The control unit monitors the system
on the front passenger seat when the ignition is
switched on and turns the airbag indicator light
on when a malfunct ion in the one of the system
components is detected
¢ page 206. Because
the front passenger seat contains important
pa rts of the Advanced Airbag System, you must
take ca re to prevent it from be ing damaged .
D amage to the seat may p reve nt the Advanced
A irbag System fo r the fron t passenger seat from
doi ng its job in a crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following :
-Cr ash sensors in the front of the vehicle t hat
measure vehicle accelerat ion/dece lerat ion to
Airbag syste m
prov ide information to the Advanced A irbag
System about the severity of the cras h.
- An electronic contro l uni t, with integrated
cras h sensors for front and side impacts . The
control unit "decides" whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information rece ived from
the crash sensors . The control unit also "de
cides" whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
- An Advanced A irbag w it h gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub .
- An Advanced A irbag w ith gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
- A capacit ive passenger detection system under
neat h the front passenger seat cover. This sys
tem meas ures the e lectr ica l capacitance of the
person in the seat. The informat ion registered
is sent cont inuously to the elect ronic contro l
un it to reg ulate dep loymen t of the front Ad
vance d Airbag on the p assenger side.
- An airbag monitor ing system and ind icator
ligh t
El in the inst rument cl uste r.
- A sensor in each front seat registe rs the d is
t ance betwee n the respective seat and the
s teer ing whee l o r i nst rument p anel. The infor
mation registered is sent con tinuous ly to the
elect ronic contro l unit to regu late dep loyment
of the front Advanced Airbags .
- The
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; lig ht comes
on and stays on in the
headliner¢ page 206,
fig. 164 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
- A sensor in the safety be lt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety be lt is latched or 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 wo rk ing prope rly.
- Imp roper repair or d isassembly of the front
passenger and driver seat will p reve nt the
Advanced A irbag Sys tem from f unct io ni ng
p roperly .
201

Airbag syste m
the system inspected immediately by your
authorized Aud i dealer. It is possible that
the a irbag will inflate when it is not sup
posed to, or will not inflate when it should.
A WARNING
If the front airbag inflates, a child without a
child restra int, or in a rearward-facing child
safety seat, or in a forward-facing child re
st raint that has not been p roperly installed
w ill be seriously injured and can be killed.
- If you must install a rearward-fac ing child
seat on the front passenger seat because of
exceptional c ircumstances and the
PA SSEN
GER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light does not appear
and stay on, have the airbag system inspect
ed by your Audi dealer.
- If, in exceptiona l circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger seat, always move the
seat into its rearmost pos ition in the seat's
fore and aft adjustment range, as far away
from the airbag as possible. The backrest
must be adjusted to an upright posit ion .
Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays on a ll the
t ime whenever the ignition is switched on.
A WARNING
If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; ligh t does
not go o ut when an adult is s itting on the
front passenger seat after taking the steps described above, have the airbag system in
spected by your Audi dealer before transport
ing anyone on the front passenger seat.
(D Tips
If the capacitive passenger detection system
determines that the front passenger seat is
empty, the frontal airbag on the passenger
side w ill be turned off, and the
PA SSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ~; light will stay on.
Repair , care and disposal of the airbags
Parts of the a irbag system are installed at many
d ifferent p laces on your Aud i. Insta lling, remov-
208
ing, servicing or repair ing a part in an area of the
vehicle can damage a part of an airbag system
and prevent that system from work ing properly
i n a coll is ion.
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
du res can increase the risk of personal in jury
and death by p reventing an airbag from de
p loying when needed or deploy ing an a irbag
unexpectedly:
-
- Never cover, obstruct, or change the steer
ing wheel ho rn pad or airbag cover or the in
s trumen t panel or modify them in any way.
- Never attach any objects s uch as c up ho lde rs
or telephone mountings to the surfaces cov
ering the a irbag un its.
- For cleaning the horn p ad or instr ument
panel, use only a soft, dry doth or one mois
tened w ith plain water . Solvents or cleaners
could damage the airbag cover or change
the stiffness o r strength of the material so
that the airbag cannot deploy and protect properly.
- Never repair, ad just, or change any parts o f
the airbag system.
- All work on the steering wheel, instrument
panel, front seats or e lectr ica l system ( in
cluding the installation of a udio eq uipment,
cellular te lephones and CB radios, etc.)
m ust be performed by a qualified techn ician
who has the training and spec ial equipment
necessary.
- For any work on the airbag system, we
strong ly recommend tha t you see you r au
thori zed A udi dealer or qualified wo rkshop.
- Never modify the front bumper or pa rts of
the vehicle body.
- Always make sure that the side a irbag can
inflate w ithout interfe rence:

Cl 00 .-< N r-N .-< 0 r-Vl 00
-Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat if the
PA S·
SEN GER AIR B AG
OFF,;; light does not
turn on and stay on. Have the system in
spected immediately by an authorized Audi
dealer or author ized Audi Service Facility .
A WARNING
-Forward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on the
front passenge r seat may inte rfere with the
deployment of the a irbag and cause serious
persona l inju ry to the child .
- If except ional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child res traint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety
and well-being require the following special
precautions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-facing seat has been designed and cert ified by its
manufacture r fo r u se on a front passenger
seat with a front and s ide a irb ag.
- Always carefully follow the manufacturer's
instr uctions provided with the child seat
or i nfan t ca rrier.
- Never p ut the fo rward-facing child re
s tra int up against o r very near the instru
men t panel.
- Always move the front passenger seat to
the highest posit ion in the up and down
ad justment range and move it back to the
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible, before installing
the forward-fac ing ch ild restraint.
- Always make sure that the safety be lt up
pe r anchorage is behind the child restra int
and not next to o r in front of the child re
stra int so that the safety belt will be prop
erly positioned.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from be ing
moved to the rearmost posit ion in its fore
and aft adjustment range .
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD p laye r, electronic games de
vice, powe r inverter or seat heater for
child se ats). These m ay influence the ele c-
Ch ild saf ety
trical capacitance measu red by the capac i
tive passenger detection system and can also fly around in an acc ident and cause
serious personal injury .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device, powe r inverter or seat heat
er for child seats) on the front passenger
seat if the device is connected to the 12-
vo lt socke t or the cigarette lighter so cket.
- If a seat heate r has been retrofitted or
othe rw ise added to t he front passenger
seat, neve r insta ll any child res traint sys
tem on this seat.
- Make su re that there a re no wet objects
(s uch as a we t towe l) and no w ater or oth
er liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Always make sure tha t the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG
OFF ,;; light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .
- Never install a forward -facing chi ld safety
seat on the front passenger seat if the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ~; light does
not turn on and stay on. Have the system
inspected immediately by an author ized
Audi dealer or authorized Audi Service Fa
c ility .
- Always buck le the child seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it . A
loose child seat can fly aro und during a
sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest raint in a vehi
cl e
~page 187, Safety bel ts, ~page 194,
Airbag sy stem
and ~ page 216, Impor
tant information.
(D Tips
A lways replace child restraints that were in
stalled in a vehicle du ring a c rash . Damage to
a child restrain t that is not v is ible could cause
i t to fai l in another co llision sit uat ion .
217

Child sa fety
~ Push the child sa fety seat down with your fu ll
weight to get the safety be lt really tight so that
the seat cannot move forward and s ideways
more than 1 in (2.5 cm).
A lways remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, a
child should always ride in the seat properly re
stra ined for its age and size.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the wrong
child safety seat or improperly install ing a
child restra int increases the r isk of se rious
personal inju ry and death.
- All veh icle occupants and especially children
must be rest rained p roperly whenever riding
in a vehicle. An unrestrained or imprope rly
restra ined child could be injured by s tri king
the interior or by being ejected from the ve
hicle d uring a sudden maneuver or impact .
An unrestrained or improperly restrained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
-Commercially available chi ld safety seats
are required to comply with U.S. Federa l
Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS) 213
(in Canada CMVSS 213).
-When b uying a ch ild rest raint, se lect one
that fits your child and the vehicle .
-Only use child rest raint systems that fully
con tact the flat portion o f the seat cush
ion. The child restraint must not tip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recom
mend using child safety seats that rest on
legs or tube-like frames. They do not pro
vide adequate contact with the seat.
-Always heed a ll legal requirements per
taining to the installat ion and use of child
safety seats and carefully follow the in
structions provided by the manufacturer
of the seat you a re us ing .
-Never let more than one child occupy a child
safety seat.
-Never let babies or older children ride in a
vehicle while sitting on the lap of another passenge r.
220
-Holding a child in your arms is never a sub
stitute fo r a child restraint system.
-The strongest person cou ld not hold the
ch ild with the forces that exist in an acc i
dent. The child will strike the interior of
the veh icle and can also be struck by the
passenger.
-The child and the passenger can also in
ju re each other in an accident.
-Never install rear-facing child safety seats
or infant carriers on the front passenger
seat. A child will be seriously injured and
can be k illed when the passenger a irbag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag Sys
tem.
-The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild safety
seat o r infant ca rr ier with great force and
will sm ash the child s afety seat and child
aga inst the ba ckres t, center armres t, door
or roof.
-I f exceptional ci rcums tances requi re the use
of a forward-f acing child restrain t on the
front passenger's seat, the chi ld's safety
and well-being require that the following
special precautions be taken:
-Make su re the forwa rd-facing seat has
been designed and ce rtified by its manu
fa ctu rer for use on a front se at with a pas
senger front and side ai rb ag.
-Always ca refully follow the man ufa ctu rer 's
i nst ru ct ions prov ided with t he ch ild sa fety
seat or carrier.
-Always move the fron t passenger seat into
the rearmost posit ion of the passenger
seat's fo re and aft adjustment range, and
as far away from the airbag as possib le be
fore installing the child restraint .
-Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its fore
and aft adjustment range.
-Always make s ure t hat the backrest is in
the up right pos ition.
-Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD p layer, electronic
games device, powe r inverter or seat heat-
er for child seats) on the front passenger
~

Cl co .... N ,....
N ...... 0 ,....
Vl co
seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates
-even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety
seat or infant carrier with great force and
will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center arm rest, door
or roof.
- Never install a rearward facing child safety
seat on the front passenger seat unless the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF~; light comes
on and stays on. If the
PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF
~ ; light does not come on and stay
on have the airbag system inspected imme
diately by your Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat should
be positioned as close as possible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS when
ever using a child restrained in a vehicle is
being used ¢
page 187, Safety belts,
¢ page 194, Airbag system and
c> page 216, Important information.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the use
of a forward-facing child restraint on the
front passenger's seat, the child's safety and
well-being require that the following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward -facing seat has been
designed and certified by its manufacturer
for use on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag .
- Always follow the manufacturer's instruc
tions provided with the child safety seat or
infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat into
the rearmost position of the passenger
seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as
far away from the airbag as possible before
installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents the
front passenger's seat from being moved to
the rearmost position in its fore and aft ad
justment range.
Child safety
- Always make sure the backrest is in an up
right position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device , power inverter or seat heater
for child seats) on the front passenger seat if the device is connected to the 12-volt
socket or the cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or oth
erwise added to the front passenger seat,
never install any child restraint system on
this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or other
liquids on the front passenger seat cushion.
- Never place objects on the seat (such as a
laptop, CD player, electronic games device ,
power inverter or seat heater for child
seats). These may influence the electrical
capacitance measured by the capacitive pas
senger detection system and can also fly
around in an accident and cause serious per
sonal injury.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
'1; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF '1; light
does not come on and stay on have the air
bag system inspected by your authorized
Audi dealer .
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between abou t 40 lbs and
80 lbs (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4 ft
9
in (5 7 in/1.45 m) tall .
Fig. 171 Passenger sea t: child properly restrained in a
booste r se at
223