& WARNING (continued)
• Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certi·
fied by its manufacturer for use
on a front seat with a passenger
front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer's instructions provided with
the child safety seat or infant carrier.
• Always move the front passenger seat into the rearmost posi
tion 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
adjustment range.
• Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
• Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light comes on
and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
• If the light does not stay on, perform the checks => page 217,
"Monitoring the Advanced Airbag System".
• Take the child restraint off the front passenger seat and install
it properly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG
OFF light does not stay on whenever the ignition is switched
on. a
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect children
weighing between about 40 lbs. and 80 lbs. (18 kg and
36 kg) who are less than 4 ft.
9 in.
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall .
Fig. 225 Rear seat:
child properly
restrained in a booster
seat
The vehicle's safety belts alone will not fit most children until
they are at least 4 ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and
weigh about 80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass properly over the
stronger parts of their bodies and the safety belt can help
protect them in a crash.
- Do not use the convertible locking retractor when using
the vehicle's safety belt to restrain a child on a booster
seat.
- Always position the shoulder portion of the safety belt
midway over the child's shoulder. If you must transport an
older child in a booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjustment to help
adjust the shoulder portion prop erly.
- Always make sure that the shoulder portion of the safety
belt never rests against or across the child's neck.
9'>
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data
• .___C_ h_ il_d _ S_a _ f_ e _ t--= y '------------------------------------------------
- A lways make sure that the chi ld can properly wear the lap
po rtio n of the belt low across t he th ig hs o r pelvis a nd
never over the stomach o r abdome n.
Ch ild ren up t o at le ast 8 years old (over 40 lbs or 18 kg) are best
protected in child safety seats des igned for their age and we ight.
Expe rts say t hat the ske letal structure, par tic ul arly the pelvis, of
these ch ildren is not fully developed , a nd they must not use the
vehicle safety belts w it h out a suitable c hild rest raint .
It is usually best to pu t these ch ildren in app ropria te booster seats.
Be sure the booster seat meets all appl icable safety standards.
Booste r seats r aise the se ating posi tion of the child and reposi tion
both the lap and sho ulder parts of the safety belt so t hat they pass
across the c hild 's body i n the rig ht places . The ro uting of the be lt ove r
t he c hild 's body is ve ry i mp ort an t fo r th e ch ild's p rot ection, wh eth er
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 1 2 and under m ust a lways
r ide in t he re a r se at.
Chi ldren who are at least 4 ft . 9 in . (57 inc hes/1. 45 meters) tall can
gene rally use t he ve hicl e's th ree poi nt la p and sho uld er bel ts. N ever
use t he lap belt port ion of the vehicle 's safety belt alone to restra in
a ny chi ld , re gar dless o f how big t he ch ild i s. Always remem ber that
childr en do no t have the pronounced pelvic s tru ctur e required for the
pr op er f unc tion of lap belt port io n of the vehi cle's t hree poin t lap and
shoulder b elts. Th e chi ld's saf ety absolu tely r equir es tha t a lap belt
portion of the safety be lt be fastened snugly and as low as possible
arou nd the pelvis . Ne ver l et t he lap bel t port ion of the safety b elt
pass over the child's stomach o r abdome n.
I n a cra sh, air bag s must inflat e withi n a bli nk of an eye a nd wi th
cons iderable fo rce . In o rder to do its job, the airbag needs room to
in flat e so t hat it will b e the re to p rotect th e occupa nt a s th e occu pan t
mov es forward into t he a irbag .
A vehi cle occ upant who is out of position and too close to the a irba g
ge ts in the w ay of an inf latin g air bag . Whe n an o ccup ant is too clos e,
he or s he will be struck violently and will rece ive s erio us or poss ibly
eve n fata l in jury. I
n order for the airbag to offe r protect ion, it is impo rta nt t hat all
ve hicle occupant s, especiall y any childr en , wh o must b e in t he front
sea t beca use of exc eptiona l circu mstances, be pro per ly r estra ined
and as far away from t he a irba g as possib le . By keep ing room
b etween t he child's body and the front o f the passenger co mpart
ment , th e a irba g can inflate completely an d prov ide sup plemental
pr ote ction in ce rt ain fro ntal coll isions.
& WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the booster seat improperly, incor
rectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety belt
improperly increases the risk of serious personal injury and death
in a collision or other emergency situation. To help reduce the risk
of seriou s personal injury and/or death:
• Always make sure to position the shoulder portion of the three
point belt over the middle of child 's shoulder.
• Never let the shoulder portion of the belt rest against or acros s
the neck, face, chin, or throat of the child.
• Always make sure the lap belt portion of the three-point belt is
worn snug and passes as low as possible across the child's pelvis.
Never let the belt pass over the soft abdomen.
• Failure to properly route safety belts over a child's body will
cause severe injuries in an accident or other emergency situation
~ page 197 .
• Children on the front seat of any car, even with Advanced
Airbags, can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag
inflates.
• Never let a child stand or kneel on any seat, for example the
front seat.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
• Always remember that a child leaning forward, sitting side
ways or out of position in any way during an accident can be struck
by a deploying airbag. This will result in serious personal injury or
death.
~
_______________________________________________ C_ h_ il_d _ S_a _ f_ e _ t..,. Y :...._ __
& WA RNING (c on tinued )
• If you mu st install a booster seat on the front pa ssenger seat
becau se of exceptional circumstance s the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF light must come on and stay on , whenever the ignition is
switched on.
• If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and
stay on, perform the checks described=>
page 217, "Monitoring
the Advanced Airbag System ".
• Take the child re straint off the front pa ssenger seat and install
it p roperly at one of the rear seat positions if the PASSENGER AIR
BAG OFF light does not stay on whenever the ign ition i s switched
on.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle i s being used=>
page 197, "Safety belts",
=> page 206, "Airbag sy stem " and => page 231, "Important
things to know ".•
Installing a child safety seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
S af ety b elts f or the re ar seats and th e fr on t passen ger
can be lock ed wit h the converti ble locking ret ract or to
properly secu re child safety seats.
The safety be lts emergency lo ck ing re trac tors for the rear seats
safety belts and for the front passenge r's seat safety belt have a
convertib le locking retractor for child rest raints . The safety be lt must
be locked so that belt webbing canno t un reel. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety be lt and prevent the safety belt webbing
from loose ning up during normal dr iv ing. A child saf ety sea t can only
be properly insta lled when the safety belt is locked so that t he chi ld
and child s afety seat will stay in pla ce.
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Always remember:
Even though yo ur vehicle is equipped w ith a n
Adv anced Air bag system, all ch ild ren, espe cially those 12 ye ars and
younger, should always ride in the back seat properly restra ined for
their age and size.
& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats increase the risk of seriou s
personal injury and death in a collis ion.
• Alway s make sure that the safety belt retractor is locked when
installing a child safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retractor
c annot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or
in a crash .
• Always bu ckle the child safety seat firmly in pla ce even if a
child is not sitting in it. A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a colli sion .
• Always make sure that the rear seat backrest to which the
center rear safety belt is attached is securely latched whenever the
rear cente r safety belt is being used to secure a child restraint.
• If the backrest is not securely latched, the child and the child
restraint will be thrown forward together w ith the backrest and
will strike part s of the vehicle interior. The child can be seriou sly
injured or killed .
• Never install rear-facing child safety seat s or infant carriers on
the front passenger seat . A child w ill be seriously injured and can
be killed when the pa ssenger airbag inflates.
• 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 armrest, door or roof.
• Always install rear-facing child safety seats or infant carriers
on the rear seat .
• Forward-facing child safety seats or infant carriers installed on
the front pas senger' s seat may interfere with the deployment of
the airbag and cause ser iou s injury to the child. .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
lffll.___C_ h_ il_d _ S_a _ f_ e _ t--= y '------------------------------------------------
Deactivating the convertible Locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child restraints will
be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all
the way back into the retractor .
- Press the red button on the safety be lt buckle . T he belt
tongue will pop out of the buckle.
- G uide the safety belt all the way back into its stowed posi-
t ion.
Always let the safety be lt retract completely into its stowed position .
The safety belt can now be used as a n ord inary safety belt withou t the
convertible locking retractor for c hild rest raints.
If the co nvertible locking retra ctor should be activated inadve rten tly,
the safety be lt must be unfastened and guided completely back into
i t s s towed posi tion to de activa te this fe ature. If the convert ible
locking retractor is not deactivated, the safety belt w ill gradually
become tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
& WARNING
Improperly in stalled child safety seats increase the ri sk of seriou s
personal injury and death in a collision .
• Never unfa sten the safety belt to deactivate the convertible
locking retracto r for child restraints while the vehicle is mo ving.
You would not b e re strained and could be seriously injured in an
accident.
• Alway s read and heed all WARNINGS whenever u sing a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used~
page 231. Special precau
tions apply when installing a child safety sea t on the front
passenger seat~
page 208, "Child restraints on the front seat -
s ome important thing s to know ".•
LATCH Lower anchorages and
tethers for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To prov ide a simpler and more practicable way to attach the child
restrain t on the vehicle se at, Federal regulat io ns re quire special
lower ancho rages in ve hicles and devices on new chi ld restraints to
a ttac h to the veh icle an chorages.
T he combination of the tether anchorages and the lower anchorages
is now generally called the
LATCH system for " Lower Anc horages and
T ethers fo r Children."
Forward -fac ing ch ild restraints manufactured after September 1,
1 999 , a re requ ired by U.S. federa l reg ulat ions to com ply w ith new
child head movement performance requirements . These new perfor
m an ce req uiremen ts make a tether necessary on most new c hild
seats .
Insta lling a child restraint that req uires a top tether without one can
ser iously impair the performance of the chi ld restra int and its abi lity
to protect the chi ld in a collision. Insta lling a child restraint that
req uires a top te ther w ithout t he top tethe r may be a violation of
state law.
Chi ld restraint manufacturers offer LA TCH lowe r anchorages on their
child seats with hook -on or push -on connectors attached to adj ust
ab le st raps.
In addit ion to the LA TC H l owe r an chorages, these ch ild restrain t
systems usually require the use of tethe r straps to help keep the child
restraint firm ly in pla ce.
& WARNING
Improper in stallation of child re straint s will increase the ri sk of
i njury and death in a crash. .,
___ C_h _i_ld _ S_ a_ f_ e_ t_,, y'-----------------------------------------------
Fig. 228 Rear seats :
lower anchorage
bracket lo cation s
Attachment locator markers for lower anchorages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback indicate the lowe r
anchorage loca tions on th e r ear seating positions~ fig. 227.
Lower anchorages
T he lower ancho rage a ttachm ent po ints are located between t he rea r
sea tback and rear sea t cushi on
~ fig. 228.
Lower a nch o rage s se cu re the chi ld rest raint in the seat withou t us ing
the vehicle 's safety be lts. Anc ho rages prov ide a secure and easy-to
u se at ta ch men t and mini miz e the pos sibil ity of im proper child
restra int i nstallation.
All child restra in ts ma nufact ured after Septem ber 1, 2 002, must
have low er anchorage attachmen ts for the
L ATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points a re only intended for
ins tallati on and attachm ent of chil d restrain ts s peci ficall y ce rti fie d
for use with
L A TCH lowe r ancho rages. Child restra ints that are not
equi pped wi th the lowe r anchor age a tta ch me nt s ca n s till be ins tal led
in compliance w it h th e c hild restraint manu fac turer 's instructions on
using vehi cle s afety be lts.
& WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages can cause seriou s
personal injury in an accident .
& WARNING (co ntinued )
• Always carefully follow the child restraints manufacturer's
instructions for proper installation of the child restraint and
proper use of the lower anchorages or safety belts in your vehicle .
• Never secure or atta ch any luggage or other items to the
LATCH
lower anchorages .
• Always read and heed the important information about child
restraints in this chapter and WARNINGS~
page 231, "Child
Safety ".•
Guidance fixtures far lower anchorages
Sp ecial guid ance fixt ures incr ea se the c on ve ni ence of the
lo we r an cho rages a nd a re avai la b le fro m you r a utho rized
Au di deal er.
Fig. 229 Outer rear
seats : in stalling the
guidance fixture s ..
___________________________________________ C_ h_il _d _ S_a _f _e _t =c,. y __ fl'II
Fig. 230 Close-up:
fitting the guidance
fixture over the lower
anchorage bracket
The lower anchorage attachment points are located on the
rear seats between the seatback and the seat cushion.
Special guidance fixtures increase the convenience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat material from
possible damage when installing child restraints.
Installing the guidance fixtures
-Push down on the seat cushion so that the lower anchor
ages are visible.
- Hold the guidance fixture with the part number facing
downward and push it in the direction of the arrow onto
the anchorage ~ fig. 230.
- Make sure that each of the two guidance fixtures per seat
snaps into place.
Removing the guidance fixtures
- Remove the child restraint according the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
- Push down on the seat cushion so that the lower anchor
ages are visible.
- Pull off the guidance fixtures from the lower anchorages.
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
-
Always remove the guidance fixtures and keep them in a
safe place when not in use.
You may find it easier to install child restraints equipped with hooks
attached to straps without the guidance fixtures in place. If this is the
case, remove the guidance fixtures by pulling them off the anchor
ages. However, the guidance fixtures can help you to locate the
LATCH anchorages.
& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or lower anchorages can cause
serious personal injury in a crash.
• Always carefully follow the child restraint manufacturer's
instructions for proper installation and use of child restraint
systems.
• Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorages to attach safety
belts or other kinds of occupant restraints.
• Child restraint tether attachments and lower attachments are
only designed to secure a child restraint that has been equipped to
use these anchorages.
• Tether anchorages and lower anchorages are designed to with
stand only those loads imposed by correctly fitted child restraints.
Under no circumstances can they be used safely for adult or child
safety belts or harnesses.
• Never mount more than one child restraint to a single tether or
to a lower anchorage point. Attaching two child restraints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause
serious personal injury in a crash.
0 Note
• Remove the guidance fixtures before folding the rear seatback to
prevent damaging the seat cushion .
• If you leave the guidance fixtures installed for several days, they
could leave a mark on the upholstery on the seat cushion and backrest _.,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
• .___C_ h_ il_d _ S_a _ f_ e _ t--= y '------------------------------------------------
in the area that the guidance fixtures were installed . The upholstery
would also be permanently stretched around the guidance fixtures.
This applies especially to leather seats .•
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always follow the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
Mounting
Fig. 231 Lower
anchorages: proper
mounting
- Make sure the seat back of the rear seat bench is in the
upright position and securely latched in place.
- Attach both hook-on connectors with the spring catch
release on the child safety seat onto the LATCH lower
anchorage so that the connectors lock into place
~ fig. 231.
- Pull on the connector attachments to make sure they are
properly attached to the LATCH lower anchorage.
- Pull straps tight following the child restraint manufac
turer's instructions.
Releasing
- Loosen the tension on the straps following the child
restraint manufacturer's instructions.
- Depress the spring catches to release the anchorage hooks
from the lower anchorages.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the child restraint firmly
in place.
& WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death in an accident.
• These anchors were developed only for child safety seats using
the "LATCH" system.
• Never attach other child safety seats, belts or other objects to
these anchors.
• Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat
in place. If you do not hear a click the seat is not secure and could
fly forward and hit the interior of the vehicle, or be ejected from
the vehicle.
& WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints will increase the risk of
injury in an accident.
• Always follow the child restraint system manufacturer's
instructions for proper installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as well as the lower anchorages or
safety belts in your vehicle.
• Always read and heed the important information and WARN
INGS about child safety and the installation of child restraint
systems ~
page 231, "Child Safety". _,
0 Note
On vehicles with power ind iv id ual rear seats * some criteria mu st be
observed when attaching the child restraint using the
LATCH system:
• To attach the c hild restraint secu rely, the seat must be moved to
the farthest rear position, the seat heig ht set to the lowest pos it io n
and the head res tra int must be adj usted to the ve rt ica l posit io n
=> page 87.
• If a ch ild safe ty seat is attached to one of the rear seats, th is seat
must not be adjusted using the powe r contro ls under a ny circum
st ances. The easy en try fu nction for this se at must a lso be dea cti
vated i n th e M MI
=> page 89. The c hild safety seat as well as the rear
se at can be dam aged by the adjus tment proce ss. •
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig . 232 Tethe r
anc hors : recess flaps
behind the rear seat
backs
Th e te ther anchors for t he t hree rear se ating p osit io ns a re loca ted in
recesses in the rear window shelf=> fig. 232. Vehicles with power
ind iv id ual rear sea ts* are equippe d wit h two te ther anchors .
A tethe r is a straight o r V-s ha ped strap that att aches the top part of
a ch ild rest raint to special anchorage points in the vehicle .
Th e purpose of the te th er is to reduce the fo rw ar d move men t of the
child rest raint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head injury
th at could be cause d by strik in g th e ve hicle in ter io r.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
Forward fac ing ch ild restraints manufactured after September 1,
1 999, are required by U.S. feder al regul ations to comp ly wi th new
child head moveme nt pe rformance requ ireme nts . These new per for
mance re quirements ma ke a tether necessary on most new child
safety seats.
& WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints will increase the risk of
injury and death in a crash.
• Always follow the instructions provided by the manufacturer
of the child restraint you intend to install in your Audi.
• Improper use of child restraint anchors (including tether
an chor s) can lead to injury in a collision . The anchors are designed
to withstand only those loads imposed by cor rectly fitted child
restraints.
• Never mount two child restraint systems on one LATCH lower
an chor point .
• Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or
tether anchorage .
• Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down hook
in the luggage
c ompartment.
• Never use child restraint tether anchorages to secure safety
belts or other kinds of occupant restraints .
• Never se cure or atta ch any luggage or other items to the LATCH
lower anchorages or to the tether anchors.
• If a tether or other strap is used to attach a child restraint to
the front passenger seat, make sure that it is not so tight , that it
causes the weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is
actually on the seat .
• The heavier weight registered can make the Advanced Airbag
System work as though an adult were on the seat and deploy the
Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing serious or
even fatal injury to the child .
"°
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data