
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 . 151 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. 151 .
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 143, 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 134, Safety
belts,
¢ page 142, 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. 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

-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-

-Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing
mat to measure mo re weight than is ac
tually on the seat .
- The heav ier weight reg istered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Adva nced Airbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
f a tal inj ury to the child .
-If you mus t install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position a nd
have t he a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
F ig. 160 Tether strap: proper routing and mounting
Inst alling the tether strap
.. Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restra int according to the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions.
Child S afety 183
.. Guide the upper tether strap und er the rear
head restraint
¢ fig. 160 (raise the head re
straint if necessary).
.. Tilt the recess flap up to expose the anchor
bracket.
.. Attach the tether strap anchorage hook into
the opening of t he tether anchorage .
.. Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spr ing catch of the hook engages .
.. Tighten the te ther s trap firmly fo llow ing
t he child restra int manufac turer's inst ruc
tions .
Releasing the tether strap
.. Loosen the tension follow ing the child re
s traint manufacture r's instr uctions.
.. Depress the spring c atch on the hook and
re lease it from the ancho rage.
(D Note
If you leave the c hild restra int w ith the
tethe r strap fi rmly ins talle d for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up
ho lstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n the area where the tether strap was in
stalled. The upholstery would also be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies espec ia lly to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Curre ntly, few rearward-facing child restraint
systems come w ith a tether . P lease read and
heed the chi ld restraint system manufactur
er's instr uctions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced A irbag Sy stem .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrie r wi th great
for ce a nd will smas h the child safety se at .,.

184 Child Saf ety
and child against the backrest, ce nter
arm rest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward -fac ing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Adva nced Airbag System. The heav ier
we ight registe red can make th e system
wor k as th ough an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advan ced Airbag when i t
must be suppressed ca using se rious or
even fatal injury to the child.
- If you mus t install a rearwar d fa cing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iate ly install the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seat ing pos i
t io n and have the airbag system inspect
ed by you r authorized Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about ch ild restrai nt select ion, in
stallat io n and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
ve hicle, and that you w ill use cor rectly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S National Highway Traffic Safety Admin
istration
Te l.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY : 1-800-424-9153)
www .nhtsa.gov
National SAFE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662-0600
www .safekids.org
Safety BeltSafe U.S.A
T el.: (800) 74S-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747 -SANO (Span is h)
www.carseat .org
Transport Canada Information Centre
T el.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stomer Relations
Tel.: (800) 822-2834

Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a tra iler, p lease remember
that the addit ional load will affect durab ility,
economy and performance .
T railer towing not on ly places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra
tion from the driver.
F or this reason, a lways fo llow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
Technical requirements
Traile r hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer we ight. The hitch must be suita
b le for your veh icle and trailer and must be
mounted secure ly on t he veh icle's chassis at a
technically sound location . Use only a t railer
h itch w ith a removab le ball moun t. A lways
check with the tr ailer hitch man ufac tur er to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
T he hitc h must be installed in such a way that
it does not inte rfe re with the impac t-absorb
i ng b umper syst em. No modifica tions should
be made to the vehicle exhaus t and b rake sys
tems . From t ime to time, check that a ll hitch
mo unt ing bolt s remain securely fas tened.
W hen you are not tow ing a trailer, remove the
trai le r hi tch ball moun t. T h is prevents the
hi tch from causing damage sho uld your ve hi
cle be str uck from be hind
¢ &. .
Trailer brakes
If yo ur tra iler is equ ipped w it h a braking sys
tem, check to be su re that it conforms to a ll
r eg ulat io ns.
Trailer towin g 197
The trailer hyd ra ulic bra ke system must not be
direct ly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
¢ &. .
Safety chains
Alw ays use s afety chains between your ve hicle
and t he tra ile r.
Trailer lights
Tra ile r lights m ust meet all reg ulations . Be
su re to check w ith your authorized Audi dealer
fo r c orrec t w iri ng, sw itches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you a re unable to see the traffic behind you
u sing the regula r outside m irrors, then you
must insta ll ext ended mir ro rs. It is important
t h at you
always have clea r vis io n to the rear .
.8, WARNING
- If a trai ler has elec trica l br ake s plea se
no te th at t hese bra kes are not activat ed
by the fa ctory -fit ted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the t railer hi tch, do no t
s to re it in yo ur vehicle . In case of sudden
brak ing, the hitch could fly fo rward and
in ju re you or yo ur passenge rs .
Operating instructions
Maximum traile r we ight
-
A trai ler fo r you r vehicle is limited to a typical
class 1 or class 2 tra iler.
Trailer load distribution
B e sure the lo ad in the tra iler is h eld secure ly
i n p lace to p reven t it from shifting fo rward,
backward or sideways.
Never allow a passenger to ride in a trailer
¢ &. in Driving instru ctions on page 198.
Engine cooling system
T owing a t railer ma kes t he engine wor k hard
er . It is impo rta nt that the cooling system's
perfo rman ce is up to the additional load.
Make sure tha t the coo ling sys tem h as enough
f lu id . .,..
•
•