2013 AUDI A7 ECU

@ Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by Audi only for
the Advanced Airbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety sea ts substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsible for the safe­
ty of everybody in the vehicle, especially chil­
dren:
~ Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
q page 181.
~ Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instructions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat.
~ When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
r::!) page 186.
~ 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
9page 181.
Always remember: Even though your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
children , especially those 12 years and young­
er, should always ride in the back seat proper­
ly restrained for their age and size.
.&, WARNING ,~
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improperly in­
stalling a child restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death .
- All vehicle occupants and especially chil­
dren must always be restrained properly
whenever riding in a vehicle.
Child Safety 1 79
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child can be injured or killed by be­
ing thrown against the inside of the ve­
hicle or by being ejected from it during
a sudden maneuver or impact.
- An unrestrained or improperly restrain­
ed child is at much greater risk of injury
or death by being struck by an inflating
airbag.
- Commercially available child safety seats are required to comply with U.S. Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standard (FMVSS)
213 (in Canada CMVSS 213).
- When buying a child restraint, select
one that fits your child and the vehicle.
- Only use child restraint systems that
fully contact the flat portion of the
seat cushion . The child restraint must
not tip or lean to either side . Audi does
not recommend using child safety
seats that rest on legs or tube-like
frames. They do not provide adequate
contact with the seat.
-Always heed all legal requirements per­
taining to the installation and use of
child safety seats and carefully follow
the instructions provided by the manu­
facturer of the seat you are using.
- Never allow children under 57 inches
(1.45 meters) to wear a normal safety
belt. They must always be restrained by a
proper child restraint system. Otherwise,
they could sustain injuries to the abdo­
men and neck areas during sudden brak­
ing maneuvers or accidents.
- Never let more than one child occupy a
child safety seat.
- Never let babies or older children ride in a vehicle while sitting on the lap of an­
other passenger .
- Holding a child in your arms is never a
substitute for a child restraint system.
- The strongest person could not hold
the child with the forces that exist in
an accident. The child will strike the in­
terior of the vehicle and can also be
struck by the passenger. •
•

Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 170 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
mu st 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 . 170.
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 be lt
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 r each of chi ld ren in ch ild
sea ts su ch 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 181
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. 171 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 186 or install the seat
using the LATCH attachments .
~ Push the child safety seat down with you r
full weight to get the safety be lt 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 181.
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 sea ts suppo rt the ba­
by's back, neck and head in a crash ¢
fig. 171.
The 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 . ..,_

belt to prevent the child safety seat from
moving
r::!>page 186 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 186 .
"' If the child safety seat is equipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
r::!> page 192.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
r::!> page 181.
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. 172 and r:::>fig. 173.
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 183
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 55. 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 140, Safety
belts, r::!> page 149, Airbag system
and
r::!> page 175, 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 . "" •
•

184 Child Safety
-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 .
- Never place or use any electrical device
(such as a laptop, CD player, electronic
games device 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 place objects on the seat (such as
a laptop, CD player, electronic games de­
vice or power inverter). These may influ­
ence the electrical capacitance measured by the capacitive passenger detection
system and can also fly around in an acci­ dent and cause serious personal injury.
- 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 forward-facing child seat
at a seating position on the rear seat and
have the airbag system inspected by your
authorized Audi dealer.
- 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.
Fig. 174 Rea r seat : child p rop erly res trained in a boos­
te r se at
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 th e
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and mu st 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 .
"" If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly .
"" Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;,page 181.
Children up to at least 8 years old (ove r 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight . Ex-
perts say that the skeletal structure, ..,.

186 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 161, 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 140, Safety
belts,¢ page 149 , Airbag system
and
¢ page 175, 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.

188 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 175. Special
p reca utions apply w hen insta lling a child
s afety sea t on the front passenger seat
¢ page 1 51, 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 175. Spec ial
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c:!) page 151, 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 child head movement performance requirements.
Child Sa fet y 189
These new performance requirements 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.
-
•
•

190 Child Safety
@ Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universal anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISO FIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 175 Schemat ic overview: LA TCH ancho rage point
l ocat ions
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped with the low­
e r anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 176 Lower a nch orages, covers marked
Fig. 177 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locations
Lower anchorages
The circular markings on the rear seat help
you to ident ify the location of lower anchorag ­
es for the two outboard seating positions
~ fig . 176-=* . The LAT CH lowe r universa l an­
chorage attachmen t points are between the
rear seatback and rear seat cushion.
Remove the covers ~
fig. 176 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points.
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible
c:> fig . 177 .
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle 's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to -use attachment and minimize the possib ili­
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All child restraints manufactured after Sep­
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system .
Please remember that the lower anchorage
po ints are only intended for installat ion and
attachment of child restraints spec ifically cer­
tified for use with
LATCH lower anchorages .
Child restraints that are not equipped with the
lower anchorage attachments can still be in­
sta lled in compliance w ith th e child restra int
manufactu rer's instr uctions on using veh icle
safety belts.
A 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