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. 152 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at
tachments applicable to a LATCH seat
F ig. 153 Schematic overview: installation of the seat
using the vehicle's safety belt system
.. 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 Safety 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 size and weight
c::>fig . 152 and c::>fig. 153.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride. The front seat is not the safest place for a child in a forward-facing child 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 safety seat or 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 seri
ously injured or even killed when an air bag inflates. A child in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in
flates -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 install rearward-f acing child safe
ty seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and t he
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 Audi dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
~
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 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
<=> page 134, Safety
belts,<=> page 142, 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 153, 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 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.
"' .....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 154 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 .
.,. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
<=>page 171.
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
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.
~
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
•
•
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 . ..,.
scalding from hot coo lant by following
these steps.
- Turn
off the engi ne and a llow it to cool
down.
- Protect your face, hands and arms from
escapi ng fl uid and steam by cover ing
the cap with a large, thick rag .
- Turn the cap slowly and very ca refully
i n a cou nte r-clockw ise dir ect ion while
a pply ing lig ht, downwa rd p ress ure on
the top of the cap.
- T o avo id being burned, do no t sp ill an
tifree ze o r coolan t on t he exh aust sys
tem or ho t engine parts . Un der certain
conditions, the ethylene glyco l in en
gine coolant can catch fire .
- Antifree ze is poisono us. Always store an
tifreeze in its or iginal co ntainer and we ll
o ut o f the reac h of children.
- If you drain the coolant , it must be
caught and safely stored in a p roper con
tainer clear ly marked "poison".
(D Note
- Coolant po llutes the env ironment and
could ca use a n engine fire . Excess coo l
ant wi ll be forced out through the pres
sure re lief va lve in the cap when the en
gine becomes hot.
- If, in an emergency, only water can be
added , the correct ratio between water
and antifreeze¢
page 223 must be re
stored as soon as possib le .
@ For the sake of the environment
Drained coolant should not be re used . Al
ways dispose of used c oolant while observ
ing all envir onmental regulations .
Radiator fan
The radiator fan switches on automa tically by
itself
T he radiator fan is driven by the engine via the
V-be lt. The viscous clutch regulates the speed
of the fan according to the temperature of the
coolant .
Checkin g and fillin g 225
An auxiliary electric radiato r fan* sw itches on
and
off depending on coolant temperature
and othe r vehicle ope rat ing con ditions.
After yo u switc h the engi ne off, the aux iliary
f an can con tinue r unning for up to 10 minutes
- even with the ignition off. It can even switch
on again later by itself¢ & , if
- t he temperatu re of the engine coo lant rises
due to the heat b uild -up from the en gine in
the engi ne compartment, or
- the engine compartment heats up be cause
the vehicle is parked in intense sunlight.
A WARNING
- To reduce the risk of personal in jury nev
er touch the radiator fan.
- The a uxiliary electric fan is temperat ure
contro lled and can switch on sud denly
even when the engine is not running.
- The a uxiliary radiator fa n switches on a u
tomatically when the engine coo lant
reaches a certain temperature and will
continue to run until the coo lant temper
ature drops .
Brake fluid
Checking brake fluid level
The brake fluid level can be checked with a
qui ck glance.
Fig. 17 3 En gin e compar tment: Cover o n the brak e flu
i d reservoi r
Before you check anyth ing in the eng ine com
partment ,
always re ad and heed all WARN
INGS c::> ,& in Working in the engine compar t-
ment on page 216 . .,..
226 Check ing and filling
• Read the brake fluid level from the brake
fluid reservoir ¢
fig. 173, ¢ page 218,
fig . 169.
The brake fluid level must be be
tween the "MIN" and "MAX" markings.
The brake fluid reservoir is located at the rear partition of the engine compartment on the
left side ¢
page 218 .
The fluid level may drop slightly after some
time due to the automatic adjustment of the brake pads . This is not cause for alarm .
I f the brake fluid level falls
considerably be
l ow the "MIN" mark, the brake wa rning/indi
cator light (U .S . mode ls:
1111 , Canadian
models :. ) will come on
¢ page 15. Do not
continue to operate the vehicle. The complete
brake system should be thoroughly checked
by an authorized Audi dealer or qualified
workshop and the cause corrected . If the
brake fluid level is too low, the brake warn ing/
i ndicato r light w ill illuminate . Contact an au
thor ized Audi dealer
imm ediat ely .
@ Tips
The brake f luid reservoir is located under
neath the cove r.
Changing brake fluid
Have the brake fluid changed by an experi
enced technician .
Brake fluid absorbs moisture from the a ir . If
the water content in the brake fluid is too
h igh, corrosion in the brake system may result
after a per iod of t ime . The bo iling po int of the
b rake fluid w ill also decrease considerably and
decrease braking performance.
Therefore, the brake flu id must be changed
ev ery two years. A lways use new brake fluid
which confo rms to Fede ral Motor Vehicle
S tanda rd "FMVSS 116 DO T 4".
The brake flu id reservoir can be difficult to
reach, therefo re , we recommend that you
have the brake fl uid changed by yo ur au tho r
ized
Audi d eale r. Your dea le r has the correct tools, the
right brake flu id and the know -how
to do this for you.
A WARNING
'-
- Brake flu id is poisonous. It must be stor-
ed only in the closed or iginal container
out of the reach of children!
- Brake failure can resu lt from o ld or inap
propriate brake f lu id. Observe these pre
cautions:
- Use only brake f luid that meets SA E
specifi cation
J 1703 and conforms to
Federa l Motor Vehicle Standard 1 16 .
Always check with your authorized Audi
dealer to make sure yo u are using the
correct brake fluid. The correct type of
brake flu id is also ind icated on the
brake f lu id reservoir.
- The brake fluid must be new. Heavy use
of the brakes can cause a vapor lock if
the brake fluid is left i n the system too
long . This can se riously affect the effi
c iency of the brakes as well as your
safety . T his could result in an accident.
W Note
Brake fluid will damage the paint of your
vehicle .
@ For the sake of the environment
Because of the prob lem of proper disposal
of brake fluid as well as the spec ial tools
required and the necessary expertise, we
recommend that you have the brake flu id
changed by your autho rized Aud i deale r.
Battery
General information
Under normal operat ing cond itions, the bat
tery in your Audi does not need any ma inte
nance. With
high outside temperatures or
long da ily drives we recommend that you have
the e lectrolyte leve l che cked by an autho rized
A udi dealer or qualified workshop. The elec
trolyte level should also be checked each time
the battery is charged
¢ page 229. ..,_