2012 AUDI A6 Owners Manual

-Always make sure that the side curtain
airbags can inflate without interference .
- Use the built-in coat hooks only for light­
weight clothing. Never leave any heavy or
sharp-edged objects in the pockets that
may interfere with airbag deployment
and can cause personal injury in a colli­
sion.
- Never use hangers to hang clothes on
the hooks.
- Only use factory-installed sun shades or,
if shades installed after the vehicle
leaves the factory, use only genuine Audi
sun shades.
- Never swing the sun visors over to the
side windows if things such as pens, ga­
rage door openers, hands-free speakers,
etc. are attached to the sun visors. They
could come loose and cause serious in­
jury if the side curtain airbag inflates.
- A deploying airbag inflates in a fraction
of a second and with great force.
- Never attach objects to the cover or in
the deployment zone of a side curtain
airbag.
- The airbag deployment zones must be
kept clear at all times. Make sure there
are no objects, pets, or other persons in
the space between any vehicle occupant
and any airbag at any time.
- Do not attach any accessories to the
doors.
A WARNING
-The airbag system can deploy only once.
If the airbag has been triggered, the sys­
tem must be replaced by an authorized
Audi dealer or qualified workshop.
- Always have work involving the side cur­
tain airbag system, removal and installa­
tion of the airbag components, or other
repairs performed by a qualified dealer­
ship. Otherwise the airbag system may
not work correctly .
- Never attempt to modify any compo­
nents of the airbag system in any way.
Airbag system 167
•
•

168 Child Saf ety
Child Safety
Important things to
know
Introduction
The rear seat is generally the safest place in a
collision.
The physical principles of what happens when
your veh icle is in a crash app ly also to chi ldren
~ page 134, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts?.
But unlike adults and
teenagers, their muscles and bones are not
fu lly developed. In many respects children are
at greater risk of serious injury in crashes than
adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully deve l­
oped, they require restraint systems especial­
ly designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of the
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small ch ildren.
In a fronta l crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant w ill be more than 20 t imes the
weight of the child. This means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate ch ild restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Child restraints, like adult safety belts, must
be used properly to be effective. Used improp­
erly, they can increase the risk of serious in­
jury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's instructions in order to be sure the seat is
right for your ch ild's size ~
page 172, Impor­
tant safety instructions for using child safety
seats.
Please be sure to read and heed all of
the important information and WARNINGS
about child safety, Advanced A irbags, and the
installation of child restraints in this chapter .
There is a lot you need to know about the Ad­
vanced Airbags in your vehicle and how they
work when infants and children in child re- straints are on the front passenger seat
. Be­
cause of the large amount of important infor­
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in th is
owner's manual about airbags and the Ad­
vanced Airbag System in your vehicle and the
very important information about transport­
ing children on the front passenger seat.
Please be sure to heed the WARNINGS -they
are extremely important for your safety and
the safety of your passengers, especially in­
fants and small children.
A WARNING
-Accident statistics have shown that chil­
dren are generally safer in the rear seat
area than in the front seating position.
Always restrain any child age 12 and un­
der in the rear.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must be restrained properly when­
ever riding in a vehicle. An unrestrained
or improperly restrained chi ld could be
injured by str iking the i nterior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. An unre­
strained or improperly restrained chi ld is
also at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable chi ld restraint properly instal ­
led and used at one of the rear seating positions provides the highest degree of
protection for infants and small children
in most accident situations.
A WARNING ,_
Children on the front seat of any car even
with Advanced Airbags can be ser iously in­
jured or even killed when an airbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat will be seriously injured and can
be killed if the front 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, or door.
II>-

-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If you must i nstall a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional c ircumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BA G OFF light does
not come on and stay o n, immed iately
install the r ear-facing child safety seat in
a rear seating posit ion and have the air­
bag system inspected immediately by
yo ur Audi dealer.
_& WARNING
- F orward-fac ing ch ild seats insta lled on
the front passenger seat may interfere
with the deployment of the airbag and
cause serious pe rsonal injury to the
child.
- If exceptiona l circumstances require the
use of a forward-fac ing chi ld restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the chi ld's
safety and well-being requ ire the follow­
ing special precaut ions to be taken:
- Always make sure that the forward-fac­
ing seat has been designed and ce rti­
fied by its manufacturer fo r use on a
f ront passenger seat with a front and
side airbag.
- Always carefu lly follow the manufac­
turer 's instructions provided with the
child seat or infant carrier.
- Never install a chi ld restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if
the child restraint manufacturer 's in­
structions require the top tether strap
to be used.
- Never p ut the forward-facing chi ld re­
straint up against or ve ry near the in­
strument panel.
- Always set the safety belt upper an­
chorage to the adjustment position
that permits prope r installation in ac­
cordance w ith th e child restra int manu­
facture r's ins truc tions.
- Always move the passenge r seat into
its rearmost posit ion in the seat's fore
an d aft a djustment range, a s far away
.
Child Sa fet y 169
from the a irba g as poss ible be fore in­
stalling the child restra int. The back­
r est m ust be adjusted to an upright po­
s ition.
- Always make sure that nothing pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from
being moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD playe r, e lectronic
games device or powe r inverte r) . These
may influence t he e lectr ica l capaci­
t an ce measured by the cap acitive pas­
senger detection sys tem and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se ­
rious personal injury .
- Never place or use any elect rical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverte r) on the
front passenger seat if the dev ice is
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
c igarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been ret rofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re ­
stra int system on th is seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no wate r or
othe r liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion.
- Always make sure tha t the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time wheneve r the ignit ion is
swi tched on.
-If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ate ly install the forwa rd-fa cing child
seat in a rear seating posi tion and have
the ai rbag system inspected by your
autho rized Aud i dea le r.
- Always b uckle the ch ild seat firmly in
place even if a child is not s itting in it .
A loose chi ld seat can f ly around during
a sudden stop or in a col lis ion.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
whenever using a child restraint in ave­
hicle
¢ page 133, Safety belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and 11--
•
•

1 70 Child Safety
c::> page 168, Important things to
know.
(D Tips
Always replace child restraints that were
installed in a vehicle during a crash. Dam­
age to a child restraint that is not visible
could cause it to fail in another collision
situation.
Advanced front airbag system and children
Your vehicle is equipped with a front "Ad­
vanced Airbag System" in compliance with United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) 208 as applicable at the
time your vehicle was manufactured.
The Advanced Airbag system in your vehicle
has been certified to meet the "low-risk " re­
quirements for 3-and 6-year old children on
the passenger side and small adults on the
driver side. The low risk deployment criteria
are intended to reduce the risk of injury
through interaction with the 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 "sup­
pression" requirements of the Safety Stand­
ard, to turn off the front airbag for infants up
to 12 months who are restrained on the front
passenger seat in child restraints that are list­
ed in the Standard.
Even though your vehicle is equipped with an
Advanced Airbag system, all children, espe­
cially those 12 years and younger, should al­
ways ride in the back seat properly restrained
for their age and size. The airbag on the pas­
senger side makes the front seat a potentially
dangerous place for a child to ride. The front
seat is not the safest place for a child in a for­
ward-facing child safety seat. It can be a very
dangerous place for an infant or a larger child
in a rearward-facing seat.
The vehicle's Advanced Airbag System has a
capacitive passenger detection system in the front passenger seat cushion that can detect
the presence of a baby or a child in a child
re­
straint system on this seat.
The capacitive passenger detection system
registers the changes that result in an electri­
cal field when a child, a child restraint, and a
baby blanket are on the front passenger seat .
The change in the measured capacitance due
to the presence of a child, a child restraint,
and a baby blanket on the front passenger
seat is related to the child restraint system
resting on the seat. The measured capacitance
of a child restraint system varies depending
on the type of system and specific make and
model.
The electrical capacitance of the various
types, makes, and models of child restraints
specified by the U.S.National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NH TSA) in the relevant
safety standard are stored in the Advanced
Airbag System control unit together with the capacitances typical of infants and a 1-year
old child. When a child restraint is used on the
front passenger seat with a typical 1 year-old infant, the Advanced Airbag System compares
the capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection system with the data
stored in the electronic control unit.
Child restraints and Advanced front
airbag system
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards and has been certified by its manu­
facturer for use with an airbag. Always be sure
that the child restraint is properly installed at
one of the rear seating positions. If in excep­
tional circumstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, carefully read all of the
information on child safety and Advanced Air­
bags and heed all of the applicable WARN­
INGS. Make certain that the child and child re­
straint are correctly recognized by the capaci­
tive passenger detection system in the front passenger seat, that the front passenger air­
bag is turned off, and that the airbag status is .,.

always correctly signaled by the PA SSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light .
Many types and models of ch ild rest ra ints
have been ava ilable over the years, new mod ­
e ls are introduced regular ly incorporating new
and improved designs and older models are
taken out of production. Child restraints are not standardi zed. Ch ild restra ints of the same
type typically have different weights and sizes
and d ifferent "footprints", the size and shape
of the bottom of the child restraint that sits
on the seat, when they are installed on a veh i­
cle seat. These differences ma ke it virtually
i mposs ible to certify compliance w it h the re ­
q uir ements for advanced a irbags w ith each
and every child restraint that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course
of the useful life of your vehicle.
F or this reason, the United States Nat ional
Highway Traffic Safety Administration has
published a list of specific type, makes and
models of child restraints that must be used
to certify compliance of the Advanced Airbag
System in your vehicle with the suppress io n
requirements of Federa l Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These child restraints are :
Subpart A -Car bed child rest raints
Model
Ange l Guard Ange l
Ride AA2403FOF
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Subpart B -Rear-f acing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Century SmartFit December 1, 1999
4543
! Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-0 13PAW and base
l 22-999WHO
Evenflo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212
I Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Child Sa fet y 1 71
-Model
Graco Snug ride
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Pr imo Vi- September 25, 2007
aggio SIP IMUNOOUS
Subpart C -Forward-facing and
con vertible child restraints
Model
Br itax Roundabout
E9L02xx
Cosco Summit Deluxe High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion
254
Evenflo Generations
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport
Graco Toddler Safety
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo
_&. WARNING ~
Manufactured on or
after
September 25, 2007
December
1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 200 7
December 1, 1999
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
September 25, 2007
T o reduce the risk of ser io us injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on w henever a
chi ld restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignit ion is switched
on.
- Take the chi ld 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immed iate­
ly .
•
•
I

172 Child Safety
The child seats listed in categories A to C
have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag 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 safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
.. Always use the right child safety seat for
each ch ild and alw ays use it properly
r:::>page 174 .
.. Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
• When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
r:::> page 179.
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
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 for their age and size.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death.
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
-
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve- hide or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improp erly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats
are required to comply 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 use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion. The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side. Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
- Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in
a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger.
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system .
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger.
- The child and the passenger can also
injure each other in an accident.

-Never install rear-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 -even with an Ad­
vanced 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 install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Forward-facing child safety seats instal­
led on the front passenger's seat can in­
terfere with the airbag when it inflates
and cause serious injury to the child. Al­
ways install forward-facing child safety
seats on the rear seat.
- If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safety and well-being require that the
following special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its man­
ufacturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side airbag.
-Always carefully follow the manufac­
turer's instructions provided with the
child safety seat or carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat
into the rearmost position of the pas­
senger 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 pre­
vents the front passenger's seat from being moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upright position .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is
Child Safety 173
connected to the 12-volt socket or the
cigarette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or
otherwise added to the front passen­
ger seat, never install any child re­
straint system on this seat.
- Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger
seat cushion .
- Never place objects on the seat (such
as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device or power inverter). These
may influence the electrical capaci­
tance measured by the capacitive pas­
senger detection system and can also
fly around in an accident and cause se­
rious personal injury.
- 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 read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­ hicle is being used
¢ page 133, Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 168, Child Safety.
A WARNING ,---
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas­
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Audi dealer immediate­
ly.
A WARNING ,--
A child in a child restraint installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with the •
•

17 4 Child Safety
standard safety belt on the rear seat may
play with unused rear seat safety belts and
become entangled resulting in ser ious per­
sonal injury and even death.
- Always buck le unused rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ldren in ch ild
seats and properly activate the converti­
ble locking retractor so that the child
cannot unreel the safety belt from the
retractor.
Child safety seats
Infant seats
Babies and infants up to about one year old
and 20 lbs . or 9 kg need special rearward-fac­
ing child restraints that support the back ,
neck and head in a crash.
F ig. 154 Schemat ic overv iew: rea rwa rd -facing infa nt
sea t, p roper ly in stalled o n the rear sea t
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
c> page 179 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
s ideways more than one inch ( 2.5 cm).
I nfants up to about one y ear (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best pro tected in special infant carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in special re­
straints in which the child faces the back of the vehicle
. These infant seats support the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash¢
fig. 154.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest
place for a child in a forward-facing child seat .
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat!
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
especially with LATCH universal anchorages ,
the unused safety belts must be secured so
that the child in the child restraint cannot
reach them .
_&. WARNING
--
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or im prope rly in­
stalling a child restraint incre ases the risk
of ser ious perso nal inju ry and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat - even with an Advanced Air­ bag System. A chi ld will be seriously in­
jured and can be killed when the inflat­ ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant carrier with great force and smashes
the child safety seat and child against
the backrest , center armrest, doo r or
roof
c> page 144, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
-Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing ch ild restra int
in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
s traints are designed for the special
needs of infants and very small ch ildren
a nd cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-facing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l cir cumstan­
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF