2013 AUDI A4 SEDAN ESP

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
q page 13 7, What happens to occupants not
wearing safety belts? .
But unlike adults their
muscles and bones are not fully developed. In
many respects children are at greater risk of
serious injury in crashes than adults.
Because children's bodies are not fully devel­
oped, they require restraint systems especial ­
l y designed for their size, weight, and body
structure. Many countries and all states of th e
United States and provinces of Canada have
laws requiring the use of approved child re­
straint systems for infants and small children .
In a frontal crash at a speed of 20 -35 mph
(30-56 km/h) the forces acting on a 13-pound
(6 kg) infant will be more than 20 times the
weight of the child . Th is means the weight of
the child would suddenly be more than 260 pounds (120 kg). Under these conditions,
only an appropriate chi ld restraint properly
used can reduce the risk of ser ious injury.
Ch ild restraints must be used properly to be
effective. Used improperly, they can increase
the risk of serious injury in an accident.
Consult the child safety seat manufacturer's
instructions to be sure the seat is right for
your chi ld's size
q page 168, Important safe­
ty instructions for using child safety seats .
Please be sure to read and heed all of the im­
portant information and WARNINGS about
child safety, Advanced Airbags, and the instal­
lation of child restraints in this chapter.
T here 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-
Child Sa fet y 165
mation, we cannot repeat it all here . We urge
you to read the detailed information in this
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 child could be injured by str iking the interior or by be­
ing ejected from the vehicle during a
sudden maneuver or impact. A n un re­
strained or improperly restrained child is
a lso at greater risk of injury or death
through contact with an inflating airbag.
- A suitable child restraint properly instal­
led and used at one o f 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 seriously in­
jured or even killed when an a irbag in­
flates. A child in a rearward-facing child
safety seat installed on the front passen­
ger seat w ill be ser iously injured and can
be killed if the front airbag inflates.
- The inflating airbag will hit the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest or door .
- Always install rearward-facing chi ld safe-
ty seats on the rear seat .
~
•
•

166 Child Safety
-If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat in exceptional circumstances and
the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light does
not come on and stay on, immediately
install the rearward-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected immediately
by your authorized Audi dealer.
.&, WARNING
If, in exceptional circumstances, you must
install a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat:
- 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.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
structions provided with the child safety
seat or carrier.
- 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 child restraint. The backrest must be adjusted to an upright position .
- Always make sure that the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays
on all the time whenever the ignition is
switched on.
(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.
Advanced Airbags and the weight­
sensing mat in the front seat
The Advanced Airbag System in your vehicle detects the presence of an infant or child in a
child restraint on the front passenger seat us­
ing the weight-sensing mat in the seat cush­
ion and the sensor below the safety belt latch
on the front passenger seat that measures the
tension on the safety belt.
The weight-sensing mat measures total
weight of the child and the child safety seat
and a child blanket on the front passenger
seat. The weight on the front passenger seat
is related to the design of the child restraint
and its "footprint", the size and shape of the
bottom of the child restraint as it sits on the
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its "footprint" vary for different kinds of child re -
straints and for the different models of the .,.

168 Child Saf ety
-Model Manufactured on or
a fter
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo V i- September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C -Forward -facing and
con vertibl e child r estra in ts
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
High Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 2007
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 200 7
352xxxx
Graco ComfortSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Cargo September 25, 2007
_&. WARNING
T o 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
G ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate­
ly.
(!) Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe­
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially ch il­
dren:
... Always use the right chi ld safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
c::;,page 171 .
... Always carefully fo llow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the c hild
safety seat.
... When using the veh icle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first ac tivate
the convertib le locking retractor on the
safety belt to p revent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 175.
... Push the ch ild safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety be lt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forwa rd or
sideways mo re than one inch (2.5 cm) .
... If a strap o r tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure tha t it i s n ot so tight th at i t
causes the weight -sensing mat to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
c::;, page 170.
Always remember : Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for their age and size. .,.

A WARNING 1-=
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
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly 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.
Child Safety 169
- 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 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 -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,
door or roof.
-Always install rearward-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
~
•
•

1 70 Child Safety
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 .
- 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
c::> page 136, Safety
belts,
c::> page 144, Airbag system and
¢ page 165, Child Safety.
.,&. 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.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
Fig. 148 Schematic overview : keep unused safety belts
away from chil dren in child sa fety seats. @· outer rear
safety belt,
®-center rea r safety belt
.
If a child safety seat is used on the rear 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 webbing behind the
head restraint of the adjacent seat
c::> fig. 148 . When doing so, do not engage
the switchable locking retractor! You should not hear a "clicking" sound when winding up
the safety belt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
.,&. WARNING
-A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or with the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled. This could cause the child serious
personal injury and even death.
-Always secure unused rear seat safety belts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by properly routing them
around the head restraint of the seat
where the child restraint is installed.
- Never activate the switchable locking re­
tractor when routing the safety belts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone sit at the center rear
seating position if the center rear safety
belt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.

174 Child Safety
• Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
9page 170.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight. Experts say that the
skeletal structur e, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitable child restraint.
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 st ructure 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 .
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.
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 wi ll be struck violently and will
receive serious or possib ly 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
proper ly 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 ­
pletely and prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
.&, WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly 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 emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug 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 the belt
lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation ¢
page 136.
-The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
c::> page 57. 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 . ""

-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 kneel on any
seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing sideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re­
sult in se rious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat o n the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
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
PAS SENGER
AIR BAG O FF
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
PA SS EN ­
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
c::> page 136, Safety
belts,
c::> page 144, Airbag system and
c::> page 165, 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 lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
Child Sa fet y 175
front passenger's seat safety be lt 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 lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
dur ing normal dr iv ing . A child safety seat can
on ly be properly insta lled when the safety belt
is locked so that the chi ld and child safety
seat w il l stay in place .
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young­
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope r­
ly restrained for the ir age and we ight .
A WARNING
=
Improperly installed chi ld safety seats in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing norma l dr iving or in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing 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 cente r rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when­
ever the rear cen ter safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int.
- 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 insta ll rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen- ger airbag inflates. .,_ •
•

-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 lock ing
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 seating position .
.. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
Child Safety 177
.. 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).
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
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 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 165. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 145, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
•
•