
174 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. 158 Rear seat: child properly restrained in a boos
ter 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 prop
erly 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 re
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body.
It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap belt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen.
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary.
.. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex
perts say that the skeletal structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully developed, and they must not
use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint.
It is usually best to put these children in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable 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
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used. Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts.
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard
less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder belts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen .
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable force. In order
to do its job, the airbag needs room to inflate
so that it will be there to protect the occupant
as the occupant moves forward into the air
bag.
A vehicle occupant who is out of position and
too close to the airbag gets in the way of an inflating airbag . When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in
Jury.
In order for the airbag to offer protection, it is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial-
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly restrained and as far away from the
airbag as possible. By keeping room between ..,_

the child's body and the front of the passen
ger compartment, the airbag can inflate 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 other eme rgency s ituation. To help re
duce the risk of serious persona l injury
and/or death:
- T he shoulder be lt mus t lie as close to the
center of the child's co llar bone as possi
ble and must lie flat and sn ug on the up
per body . It must never lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie across the pelvis and never across the
stomach or abdomen . Make sure that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
t ighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts over a ch ild's body will cause severe inju
ries in an acc ident or other emergency
situation ¢
page 134 .
-The rea r side of the child safety seat
sho uld be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the ve hicle seat. Ad
just the rear se at head res traint if it is
difficult to install the child seat w ith the
head restraint in place¢
page 128. Driv
ing with head restraints that are not
properly ad justed increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irbags, can be seri
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
-Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi
t io n in any way during an acc ident can be
Child Sa fet y 175
struck by a dep loying a irbag . This will re
sult in ser ious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because o f excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
li ght must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, pe rform
the checks descr ibed¢
page 153, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take t he chi ld restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it prope rly at one
of t he rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion is switched on .
- Always rea d and heed all WAR NIN GS
wheneve r using a child res tra ine d in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 134, Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, Airbag system and
¢ page 166 , 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 can be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con
vertib le locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that be lt
webb ing cannot unreel. The retractor can be
activated to loc k the safety belt and prevent
the safety be lt webb ing from loosening up
dur ing norma l dr iving . A ch ild safety seat can
o nl y be properly installed when t he safety bel t
is loc ked so that t he chi ld and child sa fety
seat w ill stay in place.
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle is
equipped wi th an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hil dren, especially those 1 2 years and .,. •
•

176 Child Safety
younger, should always ride in the back seat properly restrained for their age and size.
A 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 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 .
- 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 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
c> page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:> page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A 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
c> page 153, 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.
A 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.
A 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
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 .
Child Safety 177
-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 rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your 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
¢ _A .
.. 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 .
.. 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). .,._
•
•

178 Child Saf ety
8_ WARNING ,~
Using th e wrong child restraint or an im
prope rly insta lled child rest raint can cause
ser ious perso nal in jury or death in a cras h.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unloc ked safety belt re
t ractor ca nnot ho ld the child safety seat
in pla ce d uring norm al driv ing or i n a
c rash.
- Alway s bu ckl e the child safety seat firmly
in pla ce even if a child is not s itting in i t.
A loose ch ild safety sea t ca n fly around
dur ing a sud den s top or in a crash .
- Alw ays m ake su re the se at backrest to
wh ich the child restrain t is ins talled is in
an upr ight position and sec urely latched
into p lace and cannot fo ld forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback w ith the chi ld 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 WARNI NGS
w henever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is bei ng used
r::;, page 166 . Special
precautions apply whe n installing a c hild
safety seat on t he fro nt pas senge r seat
r::;, page 1 44, Child restrain ts on the fron t
seat -some imp ortant things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
T he 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 .
.. Gui de the safety belt a ll the way back into
its stowed posit io n.
A lways let the safety belt retract comp lete ly
into its stowed posit ion. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convert ib le lock ing retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
-
If the conve rtib le locking retractor sho uld be
activated inadvertent ly, the safety be lt must
be unfastened and gu ided comp lete ly back in
to its stowed posit ion to deactivate this fea
tu re. If the convert ible locking retractor is not
deact ivated, the safety belt w ill gradua lly be
come tig hte r and uncomfortable to wear .
8_ WARNING
=
Im properly installed ch ild safety seats in-
crease the r is k of serious pe rson al injury
a nd dea th in a co llision.
- Neve r unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the conve rtible locking retrac to r f or
child res traints whi le the vehi cle is mov
ing . You would not be restrained and
could be se rious ly in jured in an accide nt.
- Always rea d and heed all WARNIN GS
wheneve r using a chi ld res traine d in ave
h icle is being used
r::;, page 166. Special
preca utions app ly when insta lling a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
r::;, page 144, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
T o p rov ide a simple r and more pr acticable w ay
to attach the child restraint on the vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ia l lowe r
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
ch ild restra ints to attach t o the ve hicle ancho
rages.
T he combi nation of t he tether anchorages and
the lowe r anchorages is now generally ca lled
t h e
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children ."
Forward-facing chi ld restraints man ufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U.S.
federa l reg ulations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements . .,._

.. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower anchorages are visib le .
.. Pull
off the guidance f ixtures from the low
er anchorages.
.. Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe place when not in use .
You may find it easier to install child re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps without the guidance f ixtures in place.
If th is is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pull ing them
off the anchorages .
H owever, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages.
& WARNING
Imprope r use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious persona l
injury in a crash .
- Always carefully fo llow the child re
straint manufacturer's instruct ions for
proper installation and use of child re
straint systems .
- Never use the
LATCH or tethe r anchorag
es 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 bee n
equipped to use these anchorages.
- Tether anchorages and lower anchorages
are designed to withstand only those
loads imposed by correctly fitted chi ld
res traints. Under no circumstances can
they be used safely for adu lt or ch ild
safety belts o r harnesses.
- Never mount more than one ch ild re
straint to a sing le te ther or to a lower an
c ho rage point. A ttaching two child re
strain ts to a single anchor age point can
cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious persona l injury in a crash .
(D Note
-Remove the guidance fix ture s before
fo ld ing the rea r seatback to p reven t
damag ing t he seat c ushion .
Child S afety 181
- To attach the chi ld restraint sec urely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear
position, the seat he ight set to the low
est position and the head restraint must
be adjusted to the vertical pos ition
9 page 57.
-If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
led for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upholstery on the seat cush
ion and back rest in the area that the
guidance f ixtures were installed. The up
holste ry would also be permanen tly
st re tched aro und the guidance fixtures.
T his app lies especia lly to leather seats .
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig. 164 Lowe r anchorages: prope r mount ing
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright pos it ion and securely
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on co nnectors wit h the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place
9 fig. 164.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are proper ly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions .

188 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock braking system (ABS), brake assist
system, anti-s lip regulat ion (ASR), e lectronic
d ifferential lock ( EDL), dynamic steering* and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock*. ESC is
switched on all the time. I n certa in s ituations
when you need less tract io n, you ca n sw itch
off ASR by pressi ng the button above
~ page 189, fig. 167 the se lector lever. Be
sure to sw itch ASR on ag ain when you no lon
ger need less trac tion.
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents t he wheels from locking up
when braking. The veh icle can still be st eered
even d uring ha rd b rak ing . Apply steady p res
sure to the br ake ped al. Do no t pu mp the ped
a l. A puls ing in t he bra ke peda l ind icates that
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assist system can decrease b ra kin g
d ista nce. It increases braking powe r w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal quickl y in eme r
gency situa tions . You mus t press and ho ld the
b rake peda l until the situation is over. In vehi
cles with adaptive cruise control*, the brake
assist system is more sensitive i f the d istance
detected to the vehicle ahead is t oo smal l.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power w hen the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start, accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differential lock (EDL )
The E DL brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive powe r to the o ther d rive
wheel o r whee ls if the vehic le is equipped with
a ll whee l drive*. This funct ion is available up
to about 7S mph (120 km/h).
I n extreme cases , EDL automatica lly swit ches
off to help keep the brake on the braked whee l
from overheating. ED L wi ll switch on again au
tomatically when conditions have returned to normal.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic s teeri ng, ES C helps
stab ilize the steer ing in cer tain sit uations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock
function*
T he ele ctronic i nte raxle di fferentia l lock f unc
tion ac tiva tes when dr iving t hrough curves.
B ra king is targeted towar d the whee ls on the
inside of the curve as needed . This helps to
min imi ze front whee l skid, improves traction
and allows for more precise driving throug h
cu rves .
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR , EDL, dynamic steering*
and the elect ronic interaxle differential
loc k function* cannot ove rcome t he laws
of physics . This is espe cially im po rtant
on slippery o r we t road s.
If the sys tems
begin actin g to stabilize your veh icle, you
should immediately change yo ur speed
to match the road and t raffic conditions .
Do not let the increased safety provided
by these systems tempt you to take risks. Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle cont ro l, collision and ser io us per
sonal injur ies .
-Always ada pt your speed to road , traffic
and wea ther conditions. The risk of los
ing contr ol of the vehicle i ncreases wh en
d riving too fast, espe cially through
curve s and on slippe ry or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, EDL, ASR, dynam ic steering * and
the elect ron ic interaxle differential lock
function * cannot prevent co llisions.
- Always accelerate with s pecial care on
even, smooth s urfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even w ith
these assistance sys tems that cannot al
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve
h icle co nt ro l.
-

202 Trailer towing
• Start the engine.
• Se lect the D selector lever position.
• Re lease the park ing brake and slowly pull
out and away from the wheel chocks.
• Stop and have someone retrieve the wheel
chocks.
(D Tips
If you move the selector lever of the auto mat ic transm ission to P before applying
the park ing brake and before blocking the
wheels, you may have to use more force
later to move the lever out of the P posi
tion.