Child Safety Ill
-------------------"'---
Child Safety
Important things to know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a collision.
The physical pr in ci ples o f wha t happens w hen yo ur vehicl e is in a crash
app ly a lso to children=>
page 183, "What happens to occupants not
wearing safety be lts?". But unlike adults their mus cles an d bones a re
not fully deve loped. I n many respects children are at greater risk of
serious injury in crashes than adults .
Because children 's bodies a re not f ully deve loped, they require
restraint systems especially designed fo r their size, weight, and body
st ruct ure. Many cou ntries and a ll states of t he Unite d States and
prov inces of Canada have laws req uiring the use of approved ch ild
restrain t sys tems for infan ts an d sm all ch ild ren .
I n a fronta l crash at a speed of 20-35 mph (30-56 km/h) the forces
act ing o n a 13- pound (6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 times the
we ight of the ch ild . This means the we ight of the child wo uld
suddenly be more than 260 po unds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only a n app ropr iat e child restra int proper ly used can red uce the risk
o f serious injury. Child restrai nts must be used properly to be e ffec
t ive. Used i mpro perly, t hey can increase the risk of serio us injury in an
acc ident.
C onsult the ch ild safety seat manufacturer's i nstr uctions to be s ure
t he seat is right for your child's size
=> page 218, "Importa nt safety
instructions for using ch ild safety seats" . P lease be sure to read and
heed all of the impo rtant informat io n and WARNINGS about child
safety, Advanced Airbags, and the insta llation of ch ild rest raints in
t his chapte r.
There is a lot you need to know about the Advanced Airbags in your
vehicle and how t hey wo rk when inf ants and childre n in child
restra ints are on the front passenger seat. Beca use of t he large
Controls and equip
ment Safety first Vehicle operation
amou
nt of importa nt info rmation, we cannot repeat i t all he re. We
urge you to read the detailed information in th is owne r's man ua l
abou t airbags and t he Advanced A irbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information abo ut transporting c hildren on the front
p assenger se at. P lea se be sure to heed the WARNIN GS - they a re
extremely important for your safety and the safety of your passe n
gers, especially infan ts and small ch il dre n.
& WARNING
• Accid ent statisti cs have shown that children are generally safer
in the rear seat area than in the front seating position. Always
re strain any child age 12 and under in the rear.
• All vehicle occupants and especially children must be
restrained properly when ever riding in a vehicle. An unre strained
or improperly restrained child could be injured by striking the
interior or by being ejected from the vehicle during a sudden
maneuver or impact. An unrestrained or improperly rest rained
child is also at greater risk of injury or death through contact with
an inflat ing airbag .
• A suitable child restraint properly installed and used at one of
the rear seating posi tions provides the highest degree of protec
tion for infants and small children in most accident situations.
& WARNING
Children on the front seat of any car even with Advanced Airbags
can be seriously injured or even killed when an airbag inflates. A
c hild in a rearward -facing child safety seat ins talled on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflate s.
• The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
c arrier with great force and will sma sh the child safety seat and
child aga inst the backrest, center armrest or door . •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-Child Safety _____ ____;_..:::.:!.----------------------------
& WA RNING (conti nued)
• Alway s in stall rearwa rd-facing child safety seats on the rear
seat.
• If you must install a rearward facing child safety seat on the
front passenger seat in exceptional circumstance s and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and stay on ,
immed iately install the rearward-facing child safety seat in a rear
seating position and have the airbag system inspected immedi
ately by your authorized Audi dealer .
& WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must install a forward-facing
child res traint on the front pas senger's seat:
• Always make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed
and certified by it s manufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
• Always follow the manufacturer 's instruction s provided with
the child safety seat or carrier.
• Always move the passenger seat into it s rearmost position in
the seat 's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the
airbag as possible before installing the child restraint. The back rest must be adjusted to an upright position.
• Always make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
comes on and stays on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on .•
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equi pped wi th a fron t "Advanced Airbag System" in
compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard
( F MVSS) 2 08 as appli ca ble at t he time your ve hicle was manufa c
tured. The Advanced A
irbag system in yo ur vehicle has been certif ied to
mee t the "low -r is k" requiremen ts fo r 3-and 6-ye ar old ch ildre n on
t he passenger side and small adults on the dr iver side . The low risk
dep loyment criteria are inten ded to reduce the risk of injury through
interaction with the a irbag t hat can occur, for example, by being too
close to the stee ring wheel an d instr ument panel when the airbag
inflates. In addi tion, the system has been certified to comp ly with t he
"suppression" requirements of the Safety Standa rd, to t urn off the
fron t air bag for infan ts up to 1 2 months who a re res train ed on the
front passenger seat in child restrai nts that are listed in the Stan
d ar d.
Even thoug h your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag
system , a ll ch ildren, especially those 12 years and yo unger, should
always r ide in t he back seat p roperly restrained for t heir ag e and si ze .
Th e ai rbag on the passenge r si de makes the front seat a potentia lly
dange rous p lace for a child to r ide. Th e front seat is not th e safest
place fo r a child in a forward-facing c hild safety seat. It can be a very
d an ge rous p lace for a n infan t or a large r chil d i n a rea rwa rd-facing
seat. •
Advanced Airbags and the weight-sensing
mat in the front seat
Th e Advanced A irbag System i n your ve hicle de tects t he p resence o f
an infa nt o r ch ild in a child rest rai nt on the fro nt passenger sea t using
the we ight-sens ing mat in the seat cushion and the senso r be low the
saf ety belt la tch o n th e front passenge r seat tha t measur es t he
tension on the safety belt.
Th e weigh t-sens ing ma t me asures tot al we ight of the child and the
child safety seat and a child blanket on the fro nt passe nger seat . The
we ight on the fro nt passenger se at is re lated to t he design of the
child res traint and i ts "footpri nt", the size and shape of t he bottom
of the ch ild restraint as it sits o n the seat . The weight of a child
restrain t an d its "foo tpr int" vary for differe nt k inds of child res tra ints .,_
_,___C_ h_ il_d _ S_a _ f_ e _ t-= y ;....._ ____________________________________________ _
Model
Graco Infant 8457
Graco Snug ride
Peg Perego Primo Viaggio SIP
IMUN00US
Manufactured on or
after
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
Subpart C -Fo rward-fa cing and con vertib le child
re straints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout E9 L02xx September 25, 2007
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22 -262
Cosco H igh Back Booste r 22-209 September 25, 2007
Evenflo Tr ibute V 379xxxx September 25, 2007
Evenflo Medallion 25 4 December 1, 1999
Evenflo Generations 352xxxx September 25, 2007
Grace ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Grace Toddler Safety Seat Step 2 September 25, 2007
Graco P latinum Ca rgo September 25, 2007
& WARNING
To reduce the ri sk of serio us i njury , make sure th at the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF l ight com es on and s tays on wh en ev e r a
c hild re straint is i nsta lle d on the front pas senge r seat and th e
ign itio n is s witch ed on .
& WAR NING (continu ed)
• Take the child re st raint off the front pa ssenger seat and in stall
i t properly at one of the rear s eat position s if the PASSENGER A IR
BAG OFF light doe s not stay on .
• Hav e the a irb ag sys tem in spect ed by your authori zed Audi
deal er immedi ate ly .
[I) Tips
The chi ld seats listed in categories A to C have been tested by Audi
only for the Advanced A irbag function .•
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially reduces the
risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safety of everybody
in th e veh icle, especially children :
- Always use the right child safety seat for each child and
always use it properly=>
page 221.
-Always carefully follow the child safety seat manufac
turer's instructions on how to route the safety belt prop
erly through the child safety seat .
- When using the vehicle safety belt to install a child safety
seat, you must first activate the convert ible locking
retractor on the safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from movi ng =>
page 225.
- Push the child safety seat down wit h your full weig ht to
get the safety belt really tight so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm). ._
___________________________________________ C_ h_il _d _ S_a _f _e _t ~y __ _
- If a stra p or tet her is be ing us ed to tie t he chil d safety seat
to t he fro nt passenger seat, make sure that it is no t so
tight that i t causes the weight-sens ing ma t to measure
more weight t han is act ually on the seat.
Alw ays reme mbe r: Even though yo ur vehicle is equip ped with an
Adva nced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, especially those 12 years a nd
younger, should a lways ride in the bac k seat proper ly rest ra ined for
their age and size .
& WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, us ing the wrong child safety seat or
improperly in stalling a child re straint in crea se s the ri sk of serious
personal injury and death .
• All vehicle oc cupants and e specially children mu st always be
restrained properly whenever riding in a vehicle.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrained child can be injured or killed by being thrown against the inside of the
vehicle or by being ejected from it during a sudden maneuver
or impact .
- An unre strained or improperly restrained child is at much
greater risk of injury or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag .
• Commercially a vailable child safety seats are requi red to
c omply with U .S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS )
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213 ).
- When buying a child restraint, select one that fits your child
and the vehicle.
- Only u se child restraint sy stem s that fully contact the flat
portion of the seat cushion . The child rest raint must not tip or
lean to either side . Audi does not recommend using child
s a fety seats that rest on legs or tube-like frames. They do not
provide adequate contact with the seat .
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
-Always heed all legal requirements pe rtaining to the in stal
lation and use of child safety seat s and carefully follow the
inst ructions provided by the manufacturer of the seat you are
using.
• Never allow children under 57 inche s (1.45 meter s) to wear a
normal safety belt . They must always be restrained by a prop er
child restraint system . Otherwise , they could sustain injuries to
the abdomen and neck areas during sudden braking maneuvers or accidents.
• Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat.
• Never let babies or olde r children ride in a vehicle while sitting
on the lap of another passenger.
-Holding a child in your arms is never a sub stitute for a child
restraint system .
- The stronge st p ers on could not hold the child with the force s
that e xist in an accident . The child will strike the interio r of the
v ehicle and can also be struck by the pa ssenger.
- The child and the passenger can also injure each other in an
accident.
• Never install rearward-facing child safety seats or infant
c arrier s on the front pas senger seat. A child will be seriously
injured and can be killed when the passenger airbag inflates- even
with an Advanced Airbag Sy stem.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant
c arrier with great force and will smash the child safety seat and
child against the backrest, door or roof .
- Alway s in stall rearward -facing child safety seats or infant
carriers on the rear seat.
• Forward-facing child safety seats installed on th e front
passenger 's seat can interfere w ith the airbag when it inflates and
c ause seriou s injury to the child . Always install forward-facing
c hild safet y seats on the rear seat . .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
-L~C:_.!:h~ i~ld ~ S~ a:!: f~ e~ t~ y ~ ------------------------------------------
- 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 port ion properly .
- Always make s ure that the shoulder por tion of the safety
belt never rests against or across the child's neck .
- Always make sure that the child can properly wear the lap portion of the belt low across the thighs or pelvis and
never over the stomach or abdomen .
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Experts say that the skeletal
st ruct ure, particularly the pelv is, of these chi ldren is not fully deve l
oped, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without a suit
able child rest raint .
Children who are at least 4 ft. 9 in . (57 inches/1.45 meters) tall can
generally use the vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts . Never
use the lap belt port ion of the vehicle's safety belt alone to restra in
any child, regard less of how big the child is. Always remember that
childre n do not have the pronounced pelvic structure required for the
proper function of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point lap and
shoulder belts. The ch ild's safety absolutely requires that a lap belt
portion of the safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as possible
around the pelvis. Neve r let the lap belt po rtion of the safety bel t
pass over the child's stomach or abdomen.
It is usua lly best to p ut these ch ildren in appropriate booster seats.
Be sure the booster seat meets all appl icable safety standards .
Booster seats raise the seating position of the child and reposition
both the lap and shoulder parts of the safety belt so that they pass across the child
's body in the right places . The rout ing of the belt over
t he c hild's body is very impo rtan t for the chi ld's p ro tect io n, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12 and under must always
ride in the rear seat .
In a crash, airbags m ust inflate with in a blink of an eye and with
considerable force. In order to do its job, the airbag needs room to
infl ate so that it w ill be t he re to protect t he oc cupan t as the occupant
moves forward into the a irbag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating a irbag . When a n occupant is too close,
he or she will be struck violently and will receive serious or possibly
even fatal injury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is important that all
veh icle occupants , espec ia lly any ch ild ren, who must be in the front
seat because of exceptional c ircumstances, be properly restra ined
and as far away from the airbag as possib le . By keeping room
between the child's body and the front of the passenger compart
ment, the airbag can inflate completely and provide supplemental
protection in certa in frontal collisions.
& WARNING
Not using a booste r sea t, using th e boo ste r seat improp erl y, inc or
rectl y installing a boo ste r seat or u sing the vehicle saf ety b elt
i mp roperly increa se s the risk of serio us per sonal injur y and death
i n a colli sion or oth er emergenc y situatio n. To he lp red uce the ri sk
of s eriou s pers onal injury and /or d eath:
• Alway s make su re to po sition the shoulder portion of the three
point b elt ove r the middl e of child' s sho ulder.
• Never l et the shoulder p orti on of the b elt re st again st or acro ss
th e neck, fa ce, chin , or thro at of the ch ild.
• Alwa ys make sure the lap belt portion of th e thr ee -point belt i s
worn snug and pa sses as low a s pos sible across the ch ild 's pel vis.
N ever le t th e be lt pa ss over the soft abdomen .
liJ>
__________________________________________ ___:C~ h~il ~d ~ S~a ~f ~e ~t z._y __ _
& WARNING (c on tinued )
• Failure to properly route safety belt s ov e r a child' s body will
cause severe injurie s in an accident or oth er emergency situation
~ page 181 .
• The r ear side of the booster seat should be positioned as clo se
as possible to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Adjust o r remove
the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat
with the head restraint in place~
page 81. Install the head
restraint again immediatel y once the child seat is removed .
Driving without head restraints or with head restraints that are
not properly adju sted increases the risk of seriou s or fatal neck
injury dramat ically.
• 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 se at.
• Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle. • Alway s 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 se rious personal injury or
death .
• If you must install a booster seat on the front passenger seat
because of e xceptional circumstances 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 201, " 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 sw itched
on.
• Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child
restrained in a vehicle is being used
~ page 181 , "Safety belts",
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
& WARNING
(co ntinued )
~ page 190, "Airbag system " and ~ page 215, "Important
things to know ".•
Installing a child safety seat
Securing a child safety seat using a safety
belt
Sa fety belts for the r ear seats and th e front passenger 's
seat c an be locked with the convertible locking retractor
t o pr operly secu re c hild safety se ats.
Th e safety bel ts emergency lock ing re trac to rs for the rear seats
safety belts and for the front passenger's seat safety belt have a
c onve rtible locking retractor for child res traints. The saf ety belt m ust
be locked so that belt webbing cannot un reel. The retractor can be
act ivate d to loc k the safety belt and prevent the safety belt webb ing
from loosening up during normal dr iv ing. A child safety seat can on ly
be pro pe rly in stall ed when the sa fety belt is locke d so th at th e child
and child safety seat will stay in place.
Always remembe r: E ven tho ugh yo ur vehicle is equippe d with an
Advanced Airbag system, all ch ild ren, espec ially those 12 yea rs and
younger, should a lways ride in t he back seat properly restrained for
their age and we ight.
& WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats increase the risk of serious
personal injury and death in a collision.
• Always make sure that the safety belt retractor is locked when
installing a child safety seat . An unlocked safety belt retractor
cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or
in a cra sh. .,,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
Child Safety --------------------"'----
& WARNING (continued)
• Always move the passenger seat into its rearmost position in
the seat's fore and aft adjustment range, as far away from the airbag as possible before installing the forward-facing child
restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to 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.
& WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
• A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the
front passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Advanced 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 armrest, door or roof.
• Always be especially careful if you must install a rearward
facing child safety seat on the front passenger seat in exceptional
circumstances.
• A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing child restraint
attached to the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on
the weight-mat in the seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heavier weight registered can make
the 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.
• 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 PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does not come on and
stay on, immediately install the rearward-facing child safety seat
in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer. •
Controls and equip ment Safety first Vehicle operation
Activating the convertible Locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to secure
a child
restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufacturer's instruc
tions when installing a child restraint in your vehicle. To acti
vate the convertible locking retractor:
- Place the child restraint on a seat, preferably on the rear
seat .
- Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
- Route it around or through the child restraint belt path
::::>& .
- Push the child safety seat down with your full weight to
get the safety belt really tight.
- Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for that seating
position.
- Guide the safety belt back into the retractor until the belt
lies flat and snug on the child safety seat .
- You should hear a "clicking" noise as the belt winds back
into the inertia reel. Test the convertible locking retractor
by pulling on the belt. You should no longer be able to pull
the belt out of the retractor. The convertible locking
retractor is now activated.
- Make sure that the red release button is facing away from
the child restraint so that it can be unbuckled quickly.
- Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt is properly
tight and fastened so that the seat cannot move forward
or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm) . .,
Vehicle care Do-it-yourself service Technical data
& WARNING (co ntinued )
immediately install the rear -facing child safety seat in a rear
s eating position and have the airbag sy stem in spected by your
Audi deale r.•
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
(
Installing the tether strap
Fig . 1 9 6 Te ther st rap :
prop er routi ng and
mounting
- Release or dep loy the tet her strap on the ch ild rest raint
acco rd ing to the ch ild restra int ma nufacturer's instruc
tions.
- Guide t he upper tet her st rap
under t h e rear head restraint
:::;, fig. 196 (raise t he head restra int if necessary).
- Tilt the recess fla p up to expose the anchor bracket.
- Attac h the t ether st rap anchora ge h ook in to the op ening
o f th e tet her anchorage .
- Pull on the tethe r strap hook so that the spring catch of
t h e hoo k engages.
Safety first Vehicle OP-eration
Child Safety
-Tig hten t he tether strap firmly fo llowi ng th e ch ild
restra int man ufacturer 's ins tructions .
Releasing the tether strap
- Loosen t he tension following t he chil d restrai nt manufac
turer's i nstructions.
- D epress t he spr ing catc h on the hoo k and release it f rom
t h e anchorage.
0 Note
If you leave the child restra int wit h the tether st rap firmly installed
for several days, t his could leave a mark on t he up holstery on t he seat
c u shi on and backrest in the area whe re the tether strap was insta lled .
Th e up ho lstery would also be permanent ly stretched a round the
tether st rap. This appli es especially to leather seats. •
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint systems come wit h a
t e ther. Please read and heed the ch ild restraint system ma nufac
t u rer 's instructions care fully to determine how to properly install the
t ether.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward-facing child safety seat installed on the front
passenger seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the
front airbag inflates -even with an Ad vanced Airbag System.
• The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild safety seat or infant
carrier with great force and will sma sh the child safety seat and
child against the bac krest, center armrest , or door . •
Vehicle care Do-it-yourselt service iTechnical data