2013 AUDI A5 COUPE Owners Manual

skeletal structure, 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 res train 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.
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standa rds .
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 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
Child Safety 175
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
pletely and provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
A 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 134.
- 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
¢ 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 Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat .
-
•
•

176 Child Saf ety
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle .
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways 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 serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is sw itch­
ed on.
- If the PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and s tay on, perform
the chec ks described ¢
page 153, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest raint off the front p as­
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r seat positions if the
PASS 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 rest rained 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's seat can be locked with the con­
vertible locking retrac tor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retracto r for child restra ints .
The safety belt must be locke d so that belt
webbing can not unreel. The ret ractor ca n be
activ ated to lock the safety be lt and p revent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
d ur ing normal driv ing . A child sa fe ty seat can
on ly be proper ly installed whe n the safety belt is locked so that the chi
ld and child safety
seat wi ll stay in place.
Alw ays remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped wi th an A dvan ced Airbag system, all
ch ildren, especially those 1 2 years and young ­
er, sho uld always ride in the back seat prope r­
l y restra ined fo r 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 sure that the safety belt re­
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. A n un locked safety belt re­
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A lo ose child safe ty se at can fly aro un d
during a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
belt is atta ched is securely latched when ­
eve r the rea r center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch il d restra int .
- If the backrest is not securely la tc h ed,
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 rearwa rd-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs o n the front pas­
senger seat . A child will be serious ly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ge r airbag inflates.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infan t carrie r with gr eat
for ce a nd will smas h the child safe ty seat
a nd child ag ai nst the backr est, cen ter
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always inst all rearward-fa cing ch ild safe­
ty seats or inf ant carriers on the rea r
se at.
~

-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 143, 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-
Child Safety 177
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 •
•

178 Child Safety
though an adult were on the seat and de­ploy 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 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).
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 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 143, 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 position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
1J1-

now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convertible locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea ­
ture.
If the convertib le 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 ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 166. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 143, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Sa fet y 179
•
•

180 Child Safet y
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulations require specia l lower
anchorages in veh icles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TC H system for "L ower Anchorages and
Tethers for C hildren ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
I nstalling a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abi l­
ity to protect the child in a collision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violation of
state law .
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adj ustab le straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restra int firmly in place.
_&. WARNING
Imprope r insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of inju ry and death in
a crash.
- Always fo llow the instructions p rov ided
by the manufacturer of the c hild re- straint yo
u intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc­
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision . T he LATC H lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
chi ld res traints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATC H lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.
(D Tips
In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
u niversa l anchorage ba rs") are used to de­
scribe the system.
- In other countries, the term " ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower a ncho rages.
Location
Fi g. 155 Sc hem atic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocations
T he illust rat ion shows the seat ing loca tions in
you r vehicle which are equipped with the low­
er anchorages system.

Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig . 156 Lower anchorages, covers marke d
Fi g. 157 Rea r seats: lower anc horage bracket locat io ns
Lowe r ancho rages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
l ocated on the rear end of the rear seatback.
Remove the covers
c::> fig . 156 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points .
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visib le
c::> fig. 157 .
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint in
the seat witho ut using the vehicle 's safety
be lts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy ­
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili­
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All chi ld restraints 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 l ower anchorages. Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the low­
er anchorage attachments can 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 the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lowe r ancho­
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARN INGS
c::> 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. 158 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 connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connec to rs lock into place
c::> fig. 158 . ..,.

182 Child Safet y
• Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
• Pull straps tight following the child re­
straint manufacturer's instructions.
Re leasin g
• Loosen the tension on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer 's instruc ­
tions .
• Depress the spring catche s to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag­
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restrain t firmly in place.
A WARNING ,.
Improper use of the LATCH system can in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident .
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the "LATCH" sys­
tem .
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or ot her objects to these anchors .
-Always make sure that you hear a click when latching the seat in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
cou ld fly forward and h it the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi­
cle .
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
wi ll increase the risk of injury in an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle .
- Always read and heed the important in­
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re­
straint systems ¢
page 166, Child Safe­
ty.
-
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 159 Tet her an ch ors : recess flaps beh ind t he rear
s ea tba cks
T he tether anchors for the rear seating posi­
tions are located in recesses in the rear win­
dow shelf ¢
fig. 159.
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restra int to
special ancho rage po ints in the vehicle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for­
ward movement of the child rest raint in a
crash , in orde r to help reduce the risk of head
injury that cou ld be caused by strik ing the ve­
hicle interior.
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requi red by U.S.
federa l regu lations to comply with ch ild head
movement performance requirements. These
new performance requirements make a tether
necessary on most new child safety seats .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re­
straint you intend to install in your Audi .
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in­
jury in a collis ion. The anchors are de­
signed to withstand only those loads im­
posed by correctly fitted child rest raints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- Never attach two child restraint systems to one tether strap or tether anchorage .
-