the child's body and the front of the passen
ger compartment, the airbag can inflat e com
p letely and provide supplemental protection
in certa in frontal col lisions .
_&. WARNING
Not using a booster seat, us ing the boos
ter seat improperly, incorrect ly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or ot her eme rgency s ituation. To help re
duce t he risk of ser ious persona l injury
and/or death:
- Always make sure to position the should
er port ion of the three -po int bel t over
the middle of chi ld's sho ulder.
- Never let the shoulder port ion of the be lt
rest against or across the neck , face,
chin, or throat of the child .
- Always make sure the lap belt portion o f
the three-po int be lt is worn sn ug and
passes as low as possib le across the
child's pelvis. Never let the belt pass over
the soft abdomen.
- Failure to properly route sa fety belts
over a ch ild's body will cause severe inju
ries in an acc ident or other emergency
situation
¢page 154.
-The rear s ide of the booster seat should
be pos it ioned as close as poss ible to the
backrest on the vehicle seat . Adjust or re
move the rear seat head rest raint if it is
difficult to install the child seat w it h the
head restraint in place¢
page 67. Insta ll
the head res train t again immedia tely
once the child seat is removed . Dr iving
without head rest raints or with head re
straints that are not properly adj usted
increases the risk of ser ious o r fatal neck
injury dramat ically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri
o usly injured or even killed when an a ir
bag inf lates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat.
Child Sa fet y 195
-Never let a chi ld r ide in the cargo area of
your veh icle.
- Always remembe r th at a c hild leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi
tion in any way d uring an accident can be
struck by a dep loying a irbag. This will re
sult in ser ious personal inju ry or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional ci rcumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght m ust come o n and
s tay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on .
- I f the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, pe rform
the c heck s descr ibed
¢ page 173, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System .
- Take the chi ld restraint off the fron t pas
senger sea t and inst all it prope rly at one
of the rear sea t positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
li ght does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
-A lways read an d heed a ll WAR NIN GS
wheneve r us ing a chi ld restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 154, Safety
belts,
¢ page 162, Airbag system and
¢ page 186, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger's sea t con be locked w ith the con
ver tible locking re tractor to properly secure
child safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking ret ractors
for the rear seats safety bel ts and for the
front passenger's seat safety be lt have a co n
vertib le locking retractor for child rest raints.
T he safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to lo ck the safe ty belt and prevent
t h e safety be lt webbing from looseni ng up
during norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o nl y be properly installed when the safety belt...,
•
•
196 Child Safety
is locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children, especially those 12 years and young
er, should always ride in the back seat proper ly restrained fo r their age and weight.
.&_ WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when
ever the rear center 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 with the back
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas
senger seat . A child will be seriously in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger 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 rearward-facing child safe
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear
seat. -
Forward-facing child safety seats or in
fant carriers installed on the front pas
senger 's seat may interfere with the de
ployment of the airbag and cause serious
injury to the child .
- It is safer to install a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
~ page 186. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
~ page 163, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
.&_ WARNING
-
Always take special precautions if you
must install a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint on the front passenger's
seat in exceptional situations:
- Whenever a forward or rearward-facing
child restraint is installed on the front
passenger seat, 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 173, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child.
- Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
-Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
_&. WARNING
Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always 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 .
- Never put the forward-facing child re
straint up, against or very near the in
strument panel.
-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 exception
al circumstances.
-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas
senger seat can put too much pressure
on the weight-mat in the seat and regis
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air-
Child Safety 197
bag System. The heavier weight regis
tered can make the system work as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy 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, immedi
ately install the rearward-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur er 's instructions when installing a child re
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver
tible locking retractor:
.. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera
bly on the rear seat.
.. Slowly pull the belt
all the way out.
.. Route it around or through the child re
straint belt path
c:> ,&. .
.. 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 con
vertible locking retractor is now activated .
.. Make sure that the red release button is fac
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly. .,. •
•
198 Child Saf ety
• Pull on the be lt 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).
A WARNING t ...cc= -
Using the wrong child restraint or an im-
properly installed child rest raint can cause
ser ious personal in ju ry or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked whe n installing a child
safety seat . An unlocked safety belt re
t ra ctor cannot ho ld the child safety seat
in place during norm al driv ing or in a
c rash.
- Always buc kle the child s afety seat firmly
in place even if a child i s not s itting in i t.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make su re the seat bac krest to
which the c hild restraint is installed is in
an upright position and sec urely latched
into p lace and cannot fo ld forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback w ith the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an acc ident or other emer
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 186. Special
precautions apply when i nstalling a ch ild
safety seat on the front pas senge r seat
c::> page 163, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints 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
buck le . The belt tongue wi ll pop out of the
buck le.
• Gu ide t he safety belt all the way back into
its stowed pos it io n. Always
let the safety be lt ret ract completely
into its stowed position. The safety be lt can
now be used as an ordina ry safety belt w ith
out the convertible locking retracto r for child
restraints.
If the conver tible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertent ly, the safety be lt must
be unfastened and guided complete ly back in
to its stowed posit ion to deactivate this fea
ture. If the convert ible locking retractor is not
deact ivated, the safety belt w ill gradually be
come tig hte r and uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
Imp ro perly in stalled ch ild safety seats in
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Never u nfasten the safety belt to deacti
v ate the conve rtible locki ng re tra cto r f or
chi ld res traints whi le the vehicle is mov
ing . You would not be restrained and
could be seriously in ju red in an accident .
- Always rea d and heed a ll WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child res traine d in ave
hicle is being used c::> page 186. Special
precautions apply when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::> page 163, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s impler and more pract icable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regu lations require special lower
anchorages in vehicles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new ch ild
head movement performance requirements .
T hese new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a chi ld restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il
ity to protect the child in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v iolation of
state law.
Ch ild restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustable straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re-
Child S afety 199
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . The LATC H lowe r anchorage
points ar e designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two ch ild restra int systems
on one LA T C H l ower anchorage point .
- Never secure or a ttach any luggage or
o ther item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es.
a) Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower u niversal anchorages" (or "lower
universa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de
scribe the sys tem.
- In other countries, the t erm " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a nch o rages.
Location
Fi g. 189 Sc hema tic overv iew: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seati ng loca tions in
yo ur vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
200 Child Safety
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig. 190 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig. 191 Rea r seats: lower anchorage bracket locations
lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
l ocated on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers
c::> fig . 190 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible ¢fig. 191.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to- use attachment and minimize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint installation.
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the LATCH system.
Please remem ber that the lower anchorage
points are only intended for installation and
attachment of child restraints specifically cer
tified for use with LATCH lower anchorages.
Child restra ints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in- stalled
in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
A WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re
straints 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 attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS c::>page 186,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
When ever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
Fig. 192 Lowe r anc horages : proper mou nting
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright posit ion and securely
latched in place .
"' Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spr ing catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connecto rs lock into place ¢fig. 192.
II>
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions.
Relea sing
.. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions .
.,. Depress the spring catches to re lease the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATC H system can in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident.
- These anchors were developed only for child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or othe r objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hea r a click the seat is not secure and
c ou ld fly forward and h it the inte rior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi
cl e.
A WARNING
Improper installation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of in jury in an acc i
dent.
- Always fo llow the child rest raint system
manufacturer's instr uctions for proper
installation o f the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle.
- Always read and heed the important in
format io n and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
st raint systems~
page 186, Child Safe
ty.
-
Child S afety 201
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 193 Tet her anc hors : recess flaps behind t he rear
seatbacks
T he te ther anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located in recesses in the rear win
dow shel f¢
fig. 193 .
A tether is a stra ight or V-s haped st rap that
attaches the top par t of a ch ild restrai nt to
special a nchorage po ints in the vehicle.
T he purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child rest raint in a
c rash, i n orde r to help reduce the risk of head
injury that cou ld be caused by strik ing the ve
hicle inte rior.
Fo rward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa l reg ulations to comply wi th ch ild head
movement pe rformance requ irements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury and death in
a crash.
-Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a coll ision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im posed by co rrectly fitt ed child restraints.
- Neve r mo unt two child rest ra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap o r tethe r ancho rage .
-
202 Child Safe ty
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment .
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure more weight than is ac
tually on the seat.
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult were on the seat and de
ploy the Advanced A irbag when it m ust
be s uppressed causing ser ious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearward f acing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PAS SENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the a irbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 194 Tether strap: prope r rou ting and mo unt ing
Inst all in g the tether strap
.,. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions . .,.
Guide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint co
fig. 194 (raise the head re
straint if necessary).
.,. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.,. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of the tether anchorage.
.,. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten t he te ther s trap firmly fo llowing
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
Relea sing the tether strap
.,. Loosen the tension fo llowing the child re
straint manufacture r's instructions.
.,. Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the ancho rage.
(D Note
If you leave the child restra int w ith the
tether strap firm ly installed for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area where the tether strap was in
stalled. The upholstery would also be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies espec ia lly to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come w ith a tether. Please read and
heed the chi ld restra int system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether .
A WARNING
-
-
A child in a rearward-facing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be serious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
van ced A irbag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
for ce and will smash the child safe ty seat
~