range, and as far away from the a irbag
as poss ible before instal ling the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from be ing moved to the rearmost position
i n its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a coll is ion .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c:::;,page 137, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Child Safety.
.8, WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure tha t the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint 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 proper ly 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 Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 161 Schematic overview: kee p un used safety be lts
away from chil dren in child safe ty seats. @-oute r rear
safety be lt,
@ -center rear safety belt
.
Child S afety 1 71
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c:::;, &,.
- Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c:::;, fig. 161.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha
ble locking retractor! You shou ld not hear a
"cl icking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.8, WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LA TCH lower ancho rages or with the
standard s afety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un
use d rea r seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This could cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing t hem
around the head restrai nt of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate t he switchable l ock ing re
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
arou nd the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.
17 2 Child Safety
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.
-- /
Fig . 162 Schematic overv iew: rearwa rd -fac ing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
> When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 176 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
> 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 idew ays more than one inch (2.5 cm).
> Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 171.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected 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 spec ial re
straints in which the chi ld faces the back of
the vehicle . These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 162.
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
p lace for a child in a forwa rd-facing child seat.
I t is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
-Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag System. A child will be ser iously in
jured and can be killed whe n 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, door or roof¢
page 146, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safe
ty seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rearward-facing ch ild re
straint in the forward-facing direction .
Such rest ra ints are designed for the spe
cial needs of infants and very smal l chil
dren and cannot protect them properly if
the seat is forward-facing.
-If you must install a rearward facing
chi ld safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Aud i dealer .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,
¢ page 145, Airbag system and
¢ page 166, Important things to know.
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between 20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig . 163 Sche mati c overvi ew : ins tallat ion o f the at
tachments appl icable to a LA TCH seat
F ig. 164 Schem atic overview: installat ion of t he seat
u sing the ve hicle' s safety b elt sy stem
.. When using the vehicle safety be lt to insta ll
a chi ld safety seat, you must f irst activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
c::> page 176 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.,. Push the child safety seat down w ith your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:;, page 176.
.,. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:;, page 182 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;, page 171.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restraint if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg) . Child S
afety 173
Toddlers and children who are older than one
year up to about 4 years old and weigh more
than 20 lbs. (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat cert ified for their si ze and weight
c:;, fig . 163 and c:;, fig. 164 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front sea t is not the sa fest
place for a child in a forward -facing child safe
ty seat .
It is a very dangerous place for a n in
fant or a large r ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child s afety seat o r imprope rly in
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation .
- Ch ildren on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be se ri
ously injured or even killed when an air bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed o n the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be k illed if the front airbag in
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force a nd will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
a rmrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rearw ard-f acing ch ild safe
ty seats on the rear seat.
- I f you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rearward-fac ing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have t he airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Audi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
~
174 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=> page 61 . Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed. Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
<=>page 137, Safety
belts,<=> page 145, Airbag system
and
t::> page 166, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well -being require that the follow
ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-Always follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range,
and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
<=> page 156, Monitoring the Ad
vanced 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.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help pro te ct
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.
"' .....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 165 Rea r seat: child properly rest rai ned in a boos
te r se at
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.
176 Child Safety
-Children on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri
ously injured or even killed when an air
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a child leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi
tion in any way during an accident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
must come on and stay on, whenever the
ignition is switched on.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
tional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch
ed 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
whenever the ignition is switched on .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 137, Safety
belts,
c::> page 145, Airbag system and
c::> 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's seat can be locked with the con
vertible 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
vertible locking retractor for child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unreel. The retractor can be activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving. A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
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 for 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.
~
178 Child Safety
-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 .
- 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¢,&. .
.., 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 sea ting position .
.., Guide the safety belt back into the retrac tor
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 o f 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).
A WARNING ~
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash .
- 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
cra:;;h.
- 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 crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢ page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, 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 belt
buckle. The belt tongue will pop out of the
buckle.
" Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed pos ition.
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed pos ition. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertible locking retractor for child
rest raints .
If the convertible locking retractor should be
activated inadvertently , the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea
t ure. If the conver tible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the convertible locking retractor for
child restraints while the vehicle is mov
ing. You would not be restrained and
could be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used ¢
page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 146, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Child Safety 1 79
•
•
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig . 167 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig . 168 Rear seats: lower anchorage b racket locat ions
Lowe r ancho rages
The lower anchorage attachment points a re
located on the rear e nd of the rear sea tback.
Remove the covers
c:;, fig . 167 to access the
l ower anchorage attachment po ints.
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
c:;, fig . 168 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle 's safety
belts. Anchorages prov ide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All ch ild restra ints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH lower anchorages . Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the low
e r anchorage attachments ca n still be instal-
Child S afety 181
led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
_& 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 p roper use of th e lower anchorages
or safety belts in yo ur vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lowe r ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the importa nt in
formation about child r estraints in this
chapter and WARN INGS
¢page 166,
Child Safety.
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. 169 Lowe r anc horages: proper 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 with the
spring catch rel ease on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connec to rs lock into place
c:;, fig. 169 . ..,_