2013 AUDI A6 warning

Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 166 Schematic overview: keep unused safety belts
away from chi ldren in child safety seats. @-outer rear
safety belt,
@-center rear safety belt*
If a child safety seat is used on the rear bench,
espec ially with LATCH universal lower ancho­
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se­
cured so that the ch ild in the ch ild restra int
cannot reach them
Q ,&. .
- Gu ide the safety belt webbings@and @*
behind the head restraint of the seat whe re
the ch ild restrai nt is installed
Q fig . 166.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha ­
ble locking retractor! Yo u should not hear a
"clicking" sound when winding up the safety
belt.
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a child safety seat installed with
the LATCH lower anchorages or w ith the
standard safety belt or a child in a booster
seat on the rear seat could play with un­
used rear seat safety belts and become en­
tangled. This could ca use the child serious
personal i nju ry and even death.
- Always secure un used rear seat safety
belts out of reach of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts such as by p rope rly routing them
around the head res traint of the seat
whe re the child restraint is installed.
- Never act ivate the sw itchab le locking re­
t ractor when rout ing the safety belts
around the head res traints .
- Never le t anyone sit at the center rear
sea ting pos it ion if the cente r rear safety
Child S afety 177
be lt has been ro uted around a rear head
restraint.
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. 167 Schemat ic overv iew: rearward -facing infant
seat, properly installed on the rear seat
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locki ng retractor on the
safety belt to preven t the child safe ty seat
from mov ing
Qpage 182 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
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm).
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
Qpage 177.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant car riers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group. Many experts be lieve that infants and
small chi ld ren shou ld r ide o nly in special re­
str aints in wh ic h t he child faces the back of
the ve hicle. These infant seats suppo rt the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 167.
T he airbag on the passenger side makes the
fron t seat a pote ntia lly dange ro us place for a
c hi ld to ride. The fron t se at is not t he safest
place for a child in a fo rward -facing child seat . ..,_

1 78 Child S afet y
It is a very dangerous place for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong chi ld safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk of serious personal injury and death in a
crash .
- Never install rear-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the front pas­ senger seat -even with an Advanced Air­
bag System. A child wi ll be seriously in­
jured and can be k il led when the inflat­
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in­
fant ca rrier with great force and smashes
the chi ld safety seat and chi ld aga inst
the backrest, center armrest, door or roof
c:> page 147, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- Never install a rear-facing child restraint in the forward-facing direction. Such re­
straints are des igned for the spec ial
needs of infants and very small children
and cannot protect them properly if the
seat is forward-fac ing.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan­
ces and the
PA SS ENGER 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 and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electron ic
games dev ice or power inverter) on the
front passenger seat if the device is con­
nected to the 12-volt socket or the ciga­
rette lighter socket.
- If a seat heater has been retrofitted or otherwise added to the front passenger
seat, never install any child restraint sys­
tem on this seat. -
Make sure that there are no wet objects
(such as a wet towel) and no water or
other liquids on the front passenger seat
cushion .
- Never p lace objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CO player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter) . These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured by the capacit ive passeng er detection
sys tem and can also fly around in an acci­
dent and cause serious personal injury.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used
c:>page 136, Safety
belts, ¢page 145, Airbag system
and
c> page 171, 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.
F ig . 1 68 Schema tic overview: installat ion of the at­
tac hments applicab le to a LA TCH seat
Fig . 1 69 Schemat ic overview: installat io n of t he sea t
using the vehicle 's safety be lt syste m
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking feature on the safety
Ill>

belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
r::!>page 182 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
sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
r::!> page 182.
"' If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::!> page 188.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!> page 177.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in­
fant restraint if it is more than one year old
and weighs more than 20 lbs . (9 kg).
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 certified for their size and weight
r::!>fig.168and r:::>fig.169.
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 an in­
fant or a larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a ch ild safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­ stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situation.
- 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. 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 in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
-
Child Safety 1 79
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
arm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
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 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 and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Audi dealer.
- 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
r:::> page 53. 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
r::!> page 136, Safety
belts, r::!> page 145, Airbag system
and
r::!> page 171, 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 . "" •
•

particularly the pelvis, of these children is not
fully developed, and they must not use the ve­ hicle safety belts without a suitable child re­
straint .
It is usually best to put these children in ap­
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable safety standards.
Booster seats raise the seating position of the
child and reposition both the lap and shoulder
parts of the safety belt so that they pass
across the child 's body in the right places. The
routing of the belt over the child's body is very
important for the child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft. 9 in. (57 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle 's three point lap and shoulder belts .
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­ less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic 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.
In a c rash, 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 181
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 that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary .
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢ page 136.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just or remove the rear seat head re­
straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢page 53. 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, for example the front seat.
-
•
•

182 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 157, 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 136, Safety
belts,¢ page 145, Airbag system
and
¢ page 171, 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 can be locked with the convertible
locking re tractor 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 loc
ked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
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
c hi ldren, 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 size.
A WARNING
Improperly installed ch ild 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 safety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child sa fe ty se at can fly aroun d
du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backres t to wh ich the center rear safety
belt * is attache d is sec urely latched
wheneve r the rea r ce nter safety belt is
be ing used to secure a child rest raint.
- 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 rear-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 infant carrie r w ith gr eat
for ce and will smas h the child safe ty seat
a nd child ag ai nst t he back res t, cen ter
a rmrest, doo r or roof.
- Always inst all rear-fa cing ch ild safety
se ats or in fa nt c arrie rs on the re ar 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 171. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:::;, page 147, 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 157, 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.
- After checking to make sure that the
child restraint is properly installed, make
Child Safety 183
certain that the child restraint is correct­
ly recognized by the capacitive passenger
detection system in the front passenger
seat and that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light signals the correct front pas­
senger frontal airbag status .
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.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the .,..
•
•

184 Child Saf ety
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER A IR BAG OFF li g ht
does not come on an d stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the a irbag system inspected by your Audi
dealer .
Activating the convertible locking
retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
A lways heed the child safety seat manufactur ­
er's instructions when install ing a ch ild re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tib le locking retractor:
,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat .
,. Slow ly pull the be lt
all the wa y out .
,. Route it around or thro ugh the ch ild re­
stra int be lt path¢ &.
,. Push the child sa fety seat down wit h your
f ull weight to get the safety belt rea lly tight .
,. Inse rt the be lt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
,. Gu ide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat .
,. You should hear a "click ing" noise as the
belt w inds bac k into the ine rtia reel. Test the
conve rtible locking retractor by pull ing on
the belt . Yo u should no longe r be able to
pull the belt out of the ret ractor . The con­
vertib le locking retractor is now activated .
,. Make sure that the red re lease button is fac­
ing away from the ch ild restra int so that it
can be unbuck led quickly .
,. Pull on the be lt to make sure the safety belt
is properly t ight and fastened so that the
seat can not move forward or sideways more
t h an one i nch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
p roperly installed chi ld restraint can cause
se rious pe rsonal injury or death i n a c rash .
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat. A n un locked safety belt re­
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safe ty seat firmly
in pl ace even if a ch ild is not si tt ing in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
du ring a s udden stop or in a crash .
- Always make sure the se at b ackrest to
which the child res traint is installed is in
an upright pos ition and securely latche d
into place and cannot fold fo rward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child sa fety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of a n accident or other emer­
gency si tuation.
- Always read and heed all WAR NINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave­
h icle is being used~
page 171. Special
p reca utions apply w hen insta lling a child
s afety sea t on the front passenger seat
¢ page 147, 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 bock into
the retractor.
,. Press the red b utton on the safety belt
buckle. The be lt tong ue will pop o ut of the
buckle.
,. Guide the safety be lt a ll the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety be lt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt w ith­
out the convertible locking retracto r fo r child
r est raints .
...

If the convertible locking retracto r shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must be unfastened and guided comp letely back in­
to its stowed position to deac tivate th is fea­
ture. If the co nver tible locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be ­
come tighter and u ncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ra ctor for
child restrain ts w hile the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be rest rained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave ­
hicle is being used
c:!) page 171. Spec ial
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:!) page 147, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s impler and more pract icable way
to attach the child restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
chi ld restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho­
rages.
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lowe r anchorages is now generally called
the
LAT CH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requi red by U .S.
federal regulations to comply with new chi ld
head movement performance requirements.
Child Sa fet y 185
These new performance req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the
performance of the child restraint and its abil ­
ity to protect the child in a collision . Insta lling
a chi ld restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
sta te law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LA TCH
l ower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable st raps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the child
restraint f irmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk 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 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 st rap to be
used .
- Improper use of child restraint LATC H
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lowe r anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mo unt two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag­
es.
-
•
•