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.
~
-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 .,.
-Always acce lerate with specia l care on
even, smooth surfaces s uch as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can spin even with
these assistance systems that cannot al
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped w ith ident i
ca l tires. Different tire s izes can lead to a
reduct ion i n eng ine power.
- You may hear noises when the systems
described are wo rking .
- If the indicator light D] or m!S (USA
models) ;tiJ (Canada models) appears,
the re may be a malfunct ion
c::> page 19,
~ page 19.
Switching on/off
ESC turns on automatically when you start
the engine .
Fig . 161 Vers ion A: low er c en ter co nsol e, fj. OFF bu t
to n
Fig. 162 Ve rsio n B: upper ce nte r console,~ OFF bu t
to n
Intelligen t technolog y 187
Turning off ASR
In some sit uatio ns, it may be useful to switch
ASR
off to a llow the wheels to spin . For exam
ple:
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when i t is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow or on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
Qu ick ly press the
I~ O FF I button c::> fig. 161
and c::> fig . 162. The Ii indicator light turns on
and the message
Trac tion control (A SR) : Off.
War ning! R estrict ed stability
appears in the
display .
It i s only possible to turn
off the ASR up to
30 mph (SO km/h) for vehicles wi th front
wheel drive . At about 45 mph (70 km/h) it au
tomat ically turns on again .
It is possible to
turn
off the ASR at any speed fo r vehicles with
all wheel drive .
Turning off ESC
Press and hold the I;; OFFI button for three
seconds . The
fl ESC indicator light turns on
and the message
Stabil ization cont rol (ESC ):
o ff . Warni ng ! Re str icted stab ilit y
appea rs in
the d isplay. ASR is also sw itched
off when ESC
i s sw itched off.
Switching on
Press the j ;; O FFI button again . The fi indica
tor light t urns on and the message
St abi liz a
t ion control (ESC ): On
appears in the disp lay.
_&. WARNING
- Drive whee ls can sp in and you can lose
contro l of the vehicle more eas ily when
ASR and ESC are switched off, especia lly
when the road is s lippery .
- Switch ASR/ESC
off only when yo ur driv
ing skills, traffic and weather conditions
permit.
@ Tips
You cannot sw itch ASR and ESC off when
adaptive cruise control* is working .
-
188 Intelligent technology
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new
b rake pads do not possess their fu ll braking
effect , they have to be "broken in" first¢.&. .
You can compensate for this slightly reduced braking power by push ing harder on the brake
pedal. Avoid heavy braking loads during the
break-in per iod.
Operating condition s and d riv ing hab it s
The brakes on today's automob iles are st ill
subject to wea r, depending largely on operat
ing conditions and driving habits¢.&. . On
vehicles that are e ither driven mostly in stop
and-go city traffic or are driven hard, the b rake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dealer more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maint enan ce booklet . Failure
to have your b rake pads inspected can res ult
in red uced brake pe rformance.
On steep slopes, you shou ld use the brak ing
effect of the engine. This way, you p revent un
necessa ry wear on the brake system. If yo u
must use yo ur brakes, do not hol d the brakes
down continuously. P ump the brakes at inter
va ls.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, brak ing fo rce and outside condi
tions such as temperature and humidity.
Effect of water and road salt
In ce rtain situat ions, for example after driving
through water , in heavy ra in, after overn ight
conde nsation or afte r washing your car, the
b rak ing effect can be redu ced by mois ture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads . The
brakes must be dried first with a few careful
brake applications .
A t higher speeds and with the w indshield w ip
ers turned on, the brake pads press against
the brake rotors for a short amount of time .
This occurs at regular intervals witho ut the driver noticing and p
rovides fo r bette r brake
response time under wet conditions .
T he effec tiveness of the brakes can be red uced
when the vehicle is d riven on a sa lt -covered
r oad and the brakes are not used . Likewise,
you clean off accumulated salt coating from brake d iscs and pads with a few cautio us ap
plicat ions of the brake ¢ .&. .
Corro sio n
The re may be a tendency for di rt to b uild up
on the brake pads and corrosion to form on
the discs if the car is not driven regularly or only fo r short trips w ith litt le use of the
brakes.
If the brakes are not used frequently, o r if cor
rosion has formed on the discs, it is advisable
to clean off the pads and d iscs by braking
firmly a few times from a moderately high
speed ¢.&. .
Fault s in the brak e syst e m
If you s hou ld notice a sudden increase i n
brake pedal trave l, then one of the two brake
c ircuits may have failed ¢.&. .
Low brake fluid level
Malfunctions can occ ur in the b ra ke system if
the brake fluid level is too low. The brake fluid
l evel is monitored electronica lly.
Brake booster
T he bra ke booster inc reases the pressure that
you generate wi th the b rake peda l. It works
o n ly when the engine is runn ing .¢ .&.
Brake lining wear status
Brake lining wear may be checked by visual in
spect ion of the condition of the brake pads
th rough the ope nings in the wheel. If neces
sary, the wheel may be removed for t his in
spect ion ¢
page 253, Changing a wheel.
_& WARNING ,____
-New b rake pads don't have the best stop
p ing power and m ust be "broken-in" dur-
ing the initial 100 to 150 miles (150 to
11>-