2021 AUDI Q2 Tire

Safe driving
Safe driving
General notes
Safety is the first priority
The safety features in your vehicle are harmon­
ised to provide you and your passengers with the
best possible protection in accident situations.
However, they can only be effective if you and
your passengers sit in the correct position and
adjust and use the safety equipment properly.
For these reasons, this chapter explains why
these safety features are so important, how they
can protect you, what you need to remember
when using them, and
how
you and your passen­
gers can gain the most benefit from them. There
are also a number of important safety warnings
which you and your passengers should always ob­
serve in order to minimise the risk of injury.
WARNING
- The information in this chapter is important
for the driver of the vehicle and all passen­

gers.
The other chapters in this manual

(and,
where applicable, in the other litera­
ture supplied with the vehicle) contain fur­
ther important notes which you should read
and observe for your own safety and that of
your passengers.
- Ensure that the complete vehicle wallet is
always in the vehicle. This is especially im­
portant when you lend or sell the vehicle to
others.

CO

<
O
rN
iv
rN
i—i
o < 00
Before every trip
The driver is responsible for the safety of the
passengers and the safe operation of the vehicle
at all times.

For
your own safety and the safety of your pas­
sengers, always note the following points before
every trip:

•
Make sure that all lights and turn signals are
working properly.

•
Check the tyre pressures.

•
Make sure that all windows are clean and give
good visibility to the outside.

•
Secure all luggage and other items carefully

•=>
page 272.
• Make sure that no objects can interfere with
the pedals.

•
Adjust the front seat, head restraint and mir­
rors correctly.
• Applies to: adjustable head restraints: Make
sure that the front passenger's head restraint is
adjusted to the correct position.
• Applies to: adjustable head restraints: Make
sure that the head restraints for the rear pas­
sengers are in the fully raised position.

•
Make sure that children are protected with suit­
able safety seats and properly worn seat belts

•=>
page 267.

•
Sit in the correct position in your seat. Make
sure
that
your passengers are sitting in the cor­
rect positions
^>page
58.

•
Fasten your seat belt correctly. Make sure that
your passengers do the same
^page
275.
What factors can impair your safety?
Safety on the road is directly related to
how
you
drive, and can also be affected by the passengers
in the vehicle.
• The driver is responsible for the safety of the
vehicle and all its occupants. If your ability to
drive is impaired in any way, you endanger
yourself and other road users
,=>^.
Therefore:
• Do not let yourself be distracted by passengers
or by using a mobile phone, etc.

•
Never drive when your driving ability is im­
paired (by medication, alcohol, drugs, etc.).
• Obey all traffic regulations and speed limits
and always maintain a safe distance to the
vehi­

cle in front.

•
Always adjust your speed to suit the
road,
traf­
fic and weather conditions.

•
Take frequent breaks on long trips. Do not drive
for more than two hours without a stop.

•
If possible, avoid driving when you are tired or

stressed.
•
263

Seat belts
- Do not wear the belt over hard or fragile ob­
jects (such as glasses or pens, etc.) because
this can cause injuries.
- Loose, bulky clothing (such as an overcoat
over
a
jacket) impairs the proper fit and
function of the belts.
- The belts must be kept clean, otherwise the
retractors may not work properly

•=>
tab. Cleaning the interior on page 314.
- The slot in the seat belt buckle must not be
blocked with paper or other objects, as this
can prevent the latch plate from engaging
properly.
-The latch plate of the belt must always be
engaged in the correct buckle for that seat,
otherwise the belt will not be fully effective.
- Check the condition of the seat beLts at
reg­

ular intervals. If
you
notice that the belt

webbing,
fittings, retractor mechanism or
buckle of any of the belts is damaged, the
belt must be replaced by a qualified work­

shop.

- The seat belts must not be removed or
modified in any way. Do not attempt to re­
pair
a
damaged belt yourself.
- Seat belts which have been worn in an
acci­

dent and stretched must be replaced by a
qualified workshop. The belt anchorages
should also be checked.
Forces acting in a
collision
The physical principles involved in a frontal
impact

Very
large forces are generated during a
colli­

sion; these forces have to be absorbed.

Fig.
216 Passengers of
a
vehicle which is headed for a
brick
wall.
They are not using seat belts.

Fig.
217 The vehicle crashes into the wall
The physical principles involved in a frontal
colli­

sion are relatively simple:
Both the moving vehicle and the passengers pos­
sess energy, which is known as "kinetic energy"

^>Fig.
216. The amount of "kinetic energy" de­
pends on the speed of the vehicle and the weight
of the vehicle and passengers. The higher the
speed and the greater the weight, the more ener­
gy there is to be absorbed in an accident.
The most significant factor, however,
is
the
speed of the vehicle. If the speed doubles from
25 km/h to 50 km/h, for example, the kinetic en­
ergy increases by
a
factor of four. Because these
passengers are not restrained by seat belts, the
entire amount of kinetic energy has to be absor­
bed
at
the point of impact
^>Fig.
217. This would
result in serious or potentially fatal injury.
276

Airbag system

CO

< o rN
iv
rN
•-i

•H
00
The head-protection airbag system is triggered in
certain types of side collision
^>Fig.
235. Further
airbag systems may also be triggered, depending
on the circumstances.
When the system is triggered, the airbag fills
with a propellant gas and covers the entire area
in front of the side windows, including the door
pillars. The head-protection airbag inflates to
soften the impact if an occupant strikes parts of
the interior or objects outside the vehicLe with
their head. By reducing the head impact and re­
straining uncontrolled movement of the head,
the airbag also reduces the forces acting on the
neck.
In order to provide the desired extra protection in
an accident, the airbags have to inflate extremely
rapidly (within fractions of
a
second).
Important safety notes on the head-
protection airbags

There
are a number of safety points concerning
the airbag system which you should remember.
This will help to reduce the risk of injury in an ac­
cident.
A WARNING
- It is important to ensure that the area
around the openings for the head-protec­
tion airbags remains unobstructed at all

times,
so that the airbags can infLate prop­
erly if needed.
- The built-in coat hooks should only be used
for lightweight clothing. Do not leave any
heavy or sharp-edged objects in the pockets.
When using the coat hooks, do not hang the
clothes on coat hangers.
- The space between the passengers and the
head-protection airbags must never be oc­
cupied by children, other passengers or

pets.
Passengers should never lean out or
put
a
hand
or
arm out of the window while
the vehicle is in motion.
- Do not move the sun visors out to cover the
side windows if there is anything attached
to them (such as pens or
a
garage door
opener). These objects could cause injury if
the head-protection airbag is triggered.
The sensors for the airbags are Located in
the front doors. You must therefore not
make any modifications to the doors or door
trim (e.g. retrofitting loudspeakers),
as
this
could impair the function of the side air-

bags.
Any damage to the front doors could
Lead to faults in the system. Repairs or any
other work on the front doors must there­
fore always be carried out by
a
qualified
workshop.
Sun blinds fitted on the rear doors must not
obstruct or impair the airbags in any way.
If unsuitable accessories are installed near
the head-protection airbag, the protection
afforded by the airbag can be seriously im­
paired if the system is triggered. When the
head-protection airbag opens, parts of
these accessories could be thrown into the
vehicle and injure passengers
^>page
340.
Any work involving the head-protection air-

bags,
or removal and installation of the air-
bag components for other repairs (such as
repairs to the roof liner), must always be
performed by
a
qualified workshop. Other­
wise the airbag system may fail to work
properly.
287

Wheels
DOT ...2216...
means, for example, that the tyre was produced
in the 22nd week of 2016.
Audi Genuine Tyres
Audi Genuine Tyres with the marking "AO" are
specially matched to your Audi. When used prop­
erly, these tyres meet the highest standards in
safety and handling. Your specialist retailer will
be glad to provide more information.
Tyre wear / damage

A
WARNING
- Use only tyre/rim combinations and match­
ing wheel bolts approved by Audi. Otherwise
damage to the vehicLe and an accident could
result.
- For technical reasons, it is not possible to
use wheels from other vehicles. In certain
cases, it is not even possible to use wheels
from another vehicle of the same model.
- It is very important to ensure that the tyres
you have chosen have adequate clearance.
When selecting replacement tyres, do not
rely entirely on the nominal tyre size
marked on the tyre; with some makes of
tyre the effective tyre size can differ signifi­
cantly from the nominal dimensions, even
though the tyres have the same size desig­

nation.
Inadequate tyre clearance can result
in damage to the tyres or the vehicle, caus­
ing a serious safety risk.
- Avoid running the car on tyres that are more
than 6 years old. If
you
have no alternative,
you should drive slowly and with extra care
at all times.
- The use of run-flat tyres on your vehicle is
NOT authorised! Unauthorised use can cause
an accident or damage your vehicLe.
- If wheel trims are fitted after the car is pur­

chased,
ensure that there is an adequate
flow of air for cooling the brakes - risk of ac­
cident!

Fig.
252 Tyre tread: Tread wear indicators
Tyre wear
Inspect the tyres regularly for damage.
- The wear on under or over-inflated tyres is
sig­

nificantly higher.
- Fast cornering, heavy acceleration and hard
braking all increase tyre wear.
- If
you
notice excessive tyre wear, have the
wheel alignment checked by a qualified work­

shop.

- Have your tyres rebalanced if steering wheel vi­
brations indicate an imbalance. Otherwise, the
tyres and other parts of the vehicLe may wear
faster.
Tread wear indicators
The original tyres on your vehicle have 1.6 mm
high tread wear indicators
^>Fig.
252 running
across the tread at regular intervals. The letters

"TWI"
or triangles on the sidewall indicate the
positions of the tread wear indicators.
The minimum tread
depth1)
is reached
at
the lat­
est when the tread is worn down to the tread
wear indicators. Replace the tyres with new ones
Changing wheels round
Wheels should be changed round regularly to en­
sure that the wear is equal on all tyres. Fit the
wheels from the rear axle on the front axle and
vice-versa. All the tyres will then last for about
the same time.

x)
Please observe the applicable regulations in the country in
which you are travelling.
306