
8S8012721BA
Safe driving
Safe driving
Basics
SER Nails mali
Please remember - safety first!
The individual safety features of your vehicle can
work together as a system to help protect you
and
your passengers in a wide range of accidents.
These features cannot work as a system if they
are not always correctly adjusted and correctly
used.
This chapter contains important information,
tips, instructions and warnings that you need to
read and observe for your own safety, the safety
of your passengers and others. We have summar-
ized here what you need to know about safety
belts, airbags, child restraints as well as child
safety. Your safety is for us priority number 1. Al-
ways observe the information and warnings in
this section - for your own safety as well as that
of your passengers.
The information in this section applies to all
model versions of your vehicle. Some of the fea-
tures described in this sections may be standard
equipment on some models, or may be optional
equipment on others. If you are not sure, ask
your authorized Audi dealer.
ZA WARNING
— Always make sure that you follow the in-
structions and heed the WARNINGS in this
Manual. It is in your interest and in the in-
terest of your passengers.
— Always keep the complete Owner's Litera-
ture in your Audi when you lend or sell your
vehicle so that this important information
will always be available to the driver and
passengers.
— Always keep the Owner's literature handy so
that you can find it easily if you have ques-
tions.
Important things to do before driving
Safety is everybody's job! Vehicle and occupant
safety always depends on the informed and care-
ful driver.
For your safety and the safety of your passenger,
before driving always:
> Make sure that all lights and signals are operat-
ing correctly.
> Make sure that the tire pressure is correct.
> Make sure that all windows are clean and afford
good visibility to the outside.
> Secure all luggage and other items carefully
= page 50, > page 49.
> Make sure that nothing can interfere with the
pedals.
> Adjust seat and mirrors correctly for your
height.
> Make sure to use the right child restraint cor-
rectly to protect children > page 210, Child
safety.
> Sit properly in your seat and make sure that
your passenger do the same © page 46, Front
seats.
> Fasten your safety belt and wear it properly. Al-
so instruct your passenger to fasten his safety
belt properly > page 182.
What impairs driving safety?
Safe driving is directly related to the condition of
the vehicle, the driver as well as the driver’s abili-
ty to concentrate on the road without being dis-
tracted.
The driver is responsible for the safety of the ve-
hicle and all of its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired, safety risks for everybody in the
vehicle increase and you also become a hazard to
everyone else on the road > /\. Therefore:
> Do not let yourself be distracted by passenger
or by using a cellular telephone.
> NEVER drive when your driving ability is im-
paired (by medications, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
> Observe all traffic laws, rules of the road and
speed limits and plain common sense.
> ALWAYS adjust your speed to road, traffic and
weather conditions.
177
>

8S8012721BA
Safe driving
— Never adjust the seats while the vehicle is
moving. Your seat may move unexpectedly
and you could lose control of the vehicle.
— Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilt-
ed far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted
back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
— Children must always ride in child seats
= page 210. Special precautions apply when
installing a child seat on the front passenger
seat > page 189.
Proper seating position for the front
passenger
The proper front passenger seating position is
important for safe, relaxed driving.
For your own safety and to reduce the risk of in-
jury in the event of an accident, we recommend
that you adjust the seat for the front passenger
to the following position:
> Adjust the angle of the seatback so that it is in
an upright position and your back comes in full
contact with it whenever the vehicle is moving.
> Keep both feet flat on the floor in front of the
front passenger seat.
> Fasten and wear safety belts correctly
=>page 185.
For detailed information on how to adjust the
front passenger's seat, see > page 46.
ZA WARNING
Front seat passengers who are unbelted, out
of position or too close to the airbag can be
seriously injured or killed by the airbag as it
unfolds. To help reduce the risk of serious per-
sonal injury:
— Passengers must always sit in an upright po-
sition and never lean against or place any
part of their body too close to the area
where the airbags are located.
— Passengers who are unbelted, out of posi-
tion or too close to the airbag can be seri-
ously injured by an airbag as it unfolds with
great force in the blink of an eye.
— Always make sure that there are at least
10 in (25 cm) between the front passenger‘s
breastbone and the instrument panel.
— Always make sure that there are at least 4 in
(10 cm) between the front passenger‘s
knees and the lower part of the instrument
panel.
— Each passenger must always sit on a seat of
their own and properly fasten and wear the
safety belt belonging to that seat.
— Before driving, always adjust the front pas-
senger seat properly.
— Always keep your feet on the floor in front of
the seat. Never rest them on the seat, in-
strument panel, out of the window, etc. The
airbag system and safety belt will not be
able to protect you properly and can even in-
crease the risk of injury in a crash.
— Never drive with the backrest reclined or tilt-
ed far back! The farther the backrests are
tilted
back, the greater the risk of injury due
to incorrect positioning of the safety belt
and improper seating position.
— Children must always ride in child seats
= page 210. Special precautions apply when
installing a child seat on the front passenger
seat > page 189.
Examples of improper seating positions
The occupant restraint system can only reduce
the risk of injury if vehicle occupants are properly
seated.
Improper seating positions can cause serious in-
jury or death. Safety belts can only work when
they are properly positioned on the body. Im-
proper seating positions reduce the effectiveness
of safety belts and will even increase the risk of
injury and death by moving the safety belt to crit-
ical areas of the body. Improper seating positions
also increase the risk of serious injury and death
when an airbag deploys and strikes an occupant
who is not in the proper seating position. A driver
is responsible for the safety of all vehicle occu-
pants and especially for children. Therefore:
179
>

Safety belts
Safety belts
General notes
Always wear safety belts!
Wearing safety belts correctly saves lives!
This chapter explains why safety belts 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.
ZA\ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
— Safety belts are the single most effective
means available 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, or physically im-
paired persons must also use safety belts.
Like all vehicle occupants, they are more
likely 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.
NT tet)
Your vehicle has two seating positions. Each seat-
ing position has a safety belt.
ZA\ WARNING
Not wearing safety belts or wearing them im-
properly increases the risk of serious personal
injury and death.
— Never strap more than one person, including
small children, into any belt. It is especially
dangerous to place a safety belt over a child
sitting on your lap.
— Never let more people ride in the vehicle
than there are safety belts available.
182
— Be sure everyone riding in the vehicle is
properly restrained with a separate safety
belt or child restraint.
yr ae Caen Chi
Your vehicle has a warning system for the driver
and front seat passenger to remind you about
the importance of buckling-up.
BFV-0297
Fig. 146 Safety belt warning light in the instrument clus-
ter - enlarged
Before driving off, always:
> Fasten your safety belt and make sure you wear
it properly.
> Make sure that your passengers also buckle up
and properly wear their safety belts.
> Protect children with a child restraint system
appropriate for the size and age.
The warning light in the instrument cluster
lights up when the ignition is switched on as a re-
minder to fasten the safety belts. In addition,
you will hear a warning tone for a certain period
of time.
Fasten your safety belt and make sure that your
passengers also properly put on their safety
belts.
Z\ WARNING
— Safety belts are the single most effective
means available 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.
— Failure to pay attention to the warning light
that come on, could lead to personal injury.

8S8012721BA
Safety belts
ZA\ WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can cause
serious personal injury in an accident.
— Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as pos-
sible across the pelvis and below the round-
ing of the abdomen.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information > A\ in Fasten-
ing safety belts on page 186.
eet Lime
Unbuckle the safety belt with the red release
button only after the vehicle has stopped.
B4H-0270
Fig. 154 Releasing the tongue from the buckle
> Push the red release button on the buckle
> fig. 154. The belt tongue will spring out of
the buckle > /\.
> Let the belt wind up on the retractor as you
guide the belt tongue to its stowed position.
ZA WARNING
Never unfasten safety belt while the vehicle is
moving. Doing so will increase your risk of be-
ing injured or killed.
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 positioned on the body.
Improper seating positions reduce the effective-
ness of safety belts and will even increase the risk
of injury and death by moving the safety belt to
critical areas of the body. Improper seating posi-
tions also increase the risk of serious injury and
death when an airbag deploys and strikes an oc-
cupant who is not in the correct seating position.
A driver is responsible for the safety of all vehicle
occupants and especially for children. Therefore:
> Never permit anyone to assume an incorrect sit-
ting position in the vehicle while traveling
>.
ZA WARNING
Improperly worn safety belts increase the risk
of serious personal injury and death whenever
a vehicle is being used.
— Always make sure that all vehicle occupants
are correctly restrained and stay in a correct
seating position whenever the vehicle is be-
ing used.
— Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information > page 184.
Safety belt tensioner
How safety belt pretensioners work
Pyrotechnic safety belt pretensioners
Seat belts with pyrotechnic safety belt preten-
sioners are tensioned automatically in severe col-
lisions, depending on the circumstances. This
helps to reduce the forward motion of the occu-
pants.
Z\ WARNING
—It is possible for the pretensioners to deploy
incorrectly.
— Any work on the tensioner system or remov-
al and installation of system components
for other repairs must be performed by a
qualified workshop.
— The pyrotechnic system can only provide
protection for one collision. If the pyrotech-
nic pretensioners deploy, the pretensioning
system must be replaced. >
187

8S8012721BA
Airbag system
Airbag system
Important information
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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 178,
> Adjust the front passenger's seat properly
=> page 179,
> Wear safety belts properly > page 184,
> Always properly use the proper child restraint
to protect children > page 210.
In a collision airbags must inflate within the blink
of an eye and with considerable force. The sup-
plemental airbags can cause injuries if the driver
or the front seat passenger is not seated proper-
ly. Therefore in order to help the airbag to do its
job, it is important, both as a driver and as a pas-
senger 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 178, 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 210.
There is a lot that the driver and the passenger
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
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 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 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 >
189

8S58012721BA
Airbag system
Front airbags
pyre al eee mice a TLeey-le (4
The airbag system can provide supplemental
protection to properly restrained front seat occu-
pants.
= x 2
z 6
BFV-0063
iff i
Fig. 156 Location of front passenger's airbag: in the instru-
ment panel
Your vehicle is equipped with an “Advanced Air-
bag System” in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
(FMVSS) 208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle
Safety Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at
the time your vehicle was manufactured.
The airbag for the driver is in the steering wheel
hub > fig. 155 and the airbag for the front pas-
senger is in the instrument panel © fig. 156. The
general location of the airbags is marked “AIR-
BAG”.
There is a lot you need to know about the airbags
in your vehicle. We urge you to read the detailed
information about airbags, safety belts and child
safety in this and the other chapters that make
up the owner's literature. Please be sure to heed
the WARNINGS - they are extremely important
for your safety and the safety of your passengers,
especially infants and small children.
ZA\ WARNING
Never rely on airbags alone for protection.
— Even when they deploy, airbags provide only
supplemental protection.
— Airbag work most effectively when used
with properly worn safety belts.
— Therefore, always wear your safety belts and
make sure that everybody in your vehicle is
properly restrained.
— Always hold the steering wheel with both
hands on the outside of the steering wheel
rim at the 9:00 o'clock and 3:00 o'clock po-
sitions to help reduce the risk of personal in-
jury if the driver's airbag inflates.
— Never hold the steering wheel at the 12
o'clock position or with your hands any-
where inside the steering wheel or on the
steering wheel hub. Holding the steering
wheel the wrong way increases the risk of
severe injury to the arms, hands, and head if
the driver airbag deploys.
ZA\ WARNING
Objects between you and the airbag will in-
crease the risk of injury in a crash by interfer-
ing with the way the airbag unfolds and/or by
being pushed into you as the airbag inflates.
— Always make sure nothing is in the front air-
bag deployment zone that could be struck
by the airbag when it inflates.
— Objects in the zone of a deploying airbag can
become projectiles when the airbag deploys
and cause serious personal injury.
— Never hold things in your hands or on your
lap when the vehicle is in use.
— Never place accessories or other objects
(such as cup holders, telephone brackets,
note pads, navigation systems, or things
that are large, heavy, or bulky) on the doors;
never attach them to the doors or the wind-
shield; never place them over or near or at-
tach them to the area marked ,,AIRBAG“ on
the steering wheel, instrument panel or the
seat backrests; never place them between
193

Airbag system
these areas and you or any other person in
the vehicle.
— Never attach objects to the windshield
above the passenger front airbag, such as
accessory GPS navigation units or music
players. Such objects could cause serious in-
jury in a collision, especially when the air-
bags inflate.
ZA\ WARNING
A person on the front passenger seat, espe-
cially infants and small children, will receive
serious injuries and can even be killed by be-
ing too close to the airbag when it inflates.
— Although the Advanced Airbag System in
your vehicle is designed to turn off the front
passenger airbag if an infant or a small child
is on the front passenger seat, nobody can
absolutely guarantee that deployment un-
der these special conditions is impossible in
all conceivable situations that may happen
during the useful life of your vehicle.
— The Advanced Airbag System can deploy in
accordance with the “Low risk” option under
the U.S. Federal Standard if a child that is
heavier than the typical one-year old child is
on the front passenger seat and the other
conditions for airbag deployment are met.
— For its own safety, a child should always ride
properly restrained for its age and size.
Advanced front airbag system
Your vehicle is equipped with a front Advanced
Airbag System in compliance with United States
Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
208, as well as Canada Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (CMVSS) 208 as applicable at the time
your vehicle was manufactured.
The front Advanced Airbag System supplements
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 vehicle de-
celeration is high enough.
The front Advanced Airbag System for the front
seat occupants is not a substitute for your safety
194
belts. Rather, it is part of the overall occupant re-
straint system in your vehicle. Always remember
that the airbag system can only help to protect
you, if you are sitting upright, wearing your safe-
ty belt and wearing it properly. This is why you
and
your passengers must always be properly re-
strained, not just because the law requires you to
be.
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle has
been certified to meet the “low risk” require-
ments for 3 and 6 year-old children on the pas-
senger side and very small adults on the driver
side. The low risk deployment criteria are intend-
ed to help reduce the risk of injury through inter-
action with the front airbag that can occur, for
example, by being too close to the steering wheel
and instrument panel when the airbag inflates.
In addition, the system has been certified to
comply with the “suppression” requirements of
the Safety Standard, to turn off the front airbag
for infants 12 months old and younger who are
restrained on the front passenger seat in child re-
straints that are listed in the Standard
= page 212, Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system.
“Suppression” requires the front airbag on the
passenger side to be turned off if:
—a child up to about one year of age is restrained
on the front passenger seat in one of the rear-
facing or forward-facing infant restraints listed
in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard 208
with which the Advanced Airbag System in your
vehicle was certified. For a listing of the child
restraints that were used to certify your vehi-
cle's compliance with the US Safety Standard
=>page 212,
— When a person is detected on the front passen-
ger seat that has an electrical capacitance that
is more than the total electrical capacitance of
a child that is about 1 year old restrained in one
of the rear-facing or forward-facing infant re-
straints (listed in Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard 208 with which the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle was certified), the front
airbag on the passenger side may or may not
deploy.

Airbag system
— Always make sure that the safety belt upper
anchorage is behind the child restraint and
not next to or in front of the child restraint
so that the safety belt will be properly posi-
tioned.
— Always make sure that there is nothing on
the front passenger seat that will cause the
capacitive passenger detection system in
the seat to signal to the Airbag System that
the
seat is occupied by a person when it is
not, or to signal that it is occupied by some-
one who is heavier than the person actually
sitting on the seat. The presence of addi-
tional objects could cause the passenger
front airbag to be turned on when it should
be off, or could cause the airbag to work ina
way that is different from the way it would
have worked without the object on the seat.
— Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF 7%; light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched on.
PET ew elem me eae
The front passenger seat in your vehicle has a lot
of very important parts of the Advanced Airbag
System in it. These parts include the capacitive
passenger detection system, wiring, brackets,
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 malfunction in the one of the system
components is detected > page 200. Because the
front passenger seat contains important parts of
the Advanced Airbag System, you must take care
to prevent it from being damaged. Damage to
the seat may prevent the Advanced Airbag Sys-
tem for the front passenger seat from doing its
job ina crash.
The front Advanced Airbag System consists
of the following:
— Crash sensors in the front of the vehicle that
measure vehicle acceleration/deceleration to
provide information to the Advanced Airbag
System about the severity of the crash.
— An electronic control unit, with integrated
crash sensors for front and side impacts. The
196
control unit “decides” whether to fire the front
airbags based on the information received from
the crash sensors. The control unit also “de-
cides” whether the safety belt pretensioners
should be activated.
— An Advanced Airbag with gas generator for the
driver inside the steering wheel hub.
— An Advanced Airbag with gas generator inside
the instrument panel for the front passenger.
— A capacitive passenger detection system under-
neath the front passenger seat cover. This sys-
tem measures the electrical capacitance of the
person in the seat. The information registered
is sent continuously to the electronic control
unit to regulate deployment of the front Ad-
vanced Airbag on the passenger side.
— An airbag monitoring system and indicator
light Ea in the instrument cluster.
—Asensor in each front seat registers the dis-
tance between the respective seat and the
steering wheel or instrument panel. The infor-
mation registered is sent continuously to the
electronic control unit to regulate deployment
of the front Advanced Airbags.
— The PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF #%; light comes
on and stays on in the headliner > page 200,
fig. 158 and tells you when the front Advanced
Airbag on the passenger side has been turned
off.
—Asensor in the safety belt latch for the driver
and for the front seat passenger that senses
whether that safety belt is latched or not and
transmits this information to the electronic
control unit.
ZA WARNING
Damage to the front passenger 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 functioning
properly.
— Repairs to the front passenger seat must be
performed by qualified and properly trained
workshop personnel.
— Never remove the front passenger or driver
seat from the vehicle. >