2013 AUDI A8 ECU

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 . 177 Sche mati c overvi ew : ins tallat ion o f the at­
tachments appl icable to a LA TCH seat
F ig. 178 Schem atic overview: installat ion of t he seat
u sing the ve hicle' s safety b elt sy stem
.. 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 186 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 186.
.,. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tet her strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:;, page 193 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 181.
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 183
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 si ze and weight
c:;, fig . 177 and c:;, fig. 178 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front sea t 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 s afety seat o r 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 o f any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be se ri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­ bag inflates. A chi ld in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed o n the front
passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be k illed if the front airbag in­
flates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force a nd will smash the child safety seat
and child against the ba ckrest, center
a rm rest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats o n the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear -fac ing ch ild
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as poss ib le
~

184 Child Safet y
to the backrest on the veh icle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat w ith the
head restraint in place <=>
page 138. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly ad justed increases the risk of
serious o r fa tal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being use d
¢page 144, Safety
belts,
¢ page 152, Airbag system and
¢ page 176, Important things to know.
_& WARNING
If except ional circumstances requ ire the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the ch ild'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 certif ied by its manu­
facturer for use on a front seat with a
passenger front and side a irbag.
- Always follow the manufacturer's in­
struct ions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier .
- Always move the front passenger seat in­
to the rearmost posit ion 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 su re that noth ing 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
upr ight position .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
t ime whenever the ignition is switc hed
on.
- If the light does no t stay on, pe rform the
chec ks
¢ page 163, Monitoring the Ad­
vanced Airbag System.
- T ake 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 BA
G OF F
light does not stay on
whenever the ignit ion 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 in ches/1.45 meters) tall.
:e N 0 ±
i'il
F ig. 179 Rea r seat: c hild p roperly rest rai ned in a boos ­
ter se at
T he vehicle 's safety belts a lone 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 the ir bodies
and the safety be lt can he lp protect them in a
c rash .
.,. Do not use the convertible lock ing retractor
when us ing the vehicle's safety belt to re­
strain a ch ild on a booster seat .
.,. The shou lde r belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild'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 be lt 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 be lt height adjust­
ment to help adj ust the shou lder portion
properly .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 181. ..,_

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 163, 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 144, Safety
belts,¢ page 152 , Airbag system
and
¢ page 176, 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 attached 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 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 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 rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your 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 176. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 154, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
"" Press the red button on the safety belt
buckle. The belt tongue will pop out of the
buckle.
"" Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can
1J1-

now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided completely back in­
to its stowed position to deactivate this fea ­
ture.
If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used¢
page 176. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 154, 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 imp le r and more pract icable way
to attach the ch ild res traint on the veh icle
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 lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LA TCH system for "Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children."
F orward- facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
Child Sa fet y 189
federa l reg ulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements.
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a ch ild restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the c hild restra int and its abil ­
ity to protect the child in a collis ion. Insta lling
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat ion of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the ch ild
restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury a nd death in
a cr ash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufa cture r of the child re­
s traint yo u intend to install in your vehi­
cle.
- Never inst all a child restraint withou t a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc ­
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child rest raint LATCH
lowe r ancho rage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restra int systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag-
-
es. Ill-
•
•

190 Child Safe ty
@ Tips
- In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l 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. 180 Sch ematic overv ie w: LA TCH ancho rage point
l oca tion s
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped w ith the low­
e r anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 181 Re ar seatbacks : loca tor b utto ns fo r low er an­
chor ages
Fig. 182 Rea r seats: lowe r an cho rage b racket loc ations
Atta chment l oca to r marker s fo r lowe r
anchor ages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback
indica te t he lower an chorage locations on the
rear seating posi tions
¢ fig. 181.
L o w er anch orages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
¢ fig . 182.
Lower anchorages secure the child res train t in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety belts . Anchorages provide a secure and easy­
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili­
ty of improper ch ild restra int installation.
All child restraints manufactured after Sep ­
tember 1, 2002 , must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage po ints
are o nly intended for installation and attach ­
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Chi ld
rest raints that are not equipped with the low­
er anchorage attachments can still be insta l­
led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer 's instructions on us ing vehicle
safety belts .
Ln._ WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac­
cident.
- Always carefu lly follow the child re­
straints manufacturer's instructions for
proper installation of the child restraint

and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to the
LATCH lower ancho ­
rages .
- Always read and heed the important in­
formation about child restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 176,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven ­
ience of the lower anchorages and are availa­
ble from your au thori zed Audi dealer .
Fig. 183 Outer rear seat s: in stallin g th e guid ance fix­
tu res
F ig . 184 Clo se -up : fittin g the guidance fixt ur e ov er th e
l ower a nch o rage b rack et
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located on the rear seats between the seat­
back and the seat cushion . Specia l guidance
fix tures increase the convenience of the lower
ancho rages and help protect the seat mater ial
from possib le damage when installing child
restraints.
Install ing th e guidance fixtures
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower anchorages are visib le.
Child S afety 191
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
direction of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢ fig. 184.
.,. Make sure that each of the two guidance fix­
tures per seat snaps into place .
Removing th e guid ance fixtures
.,. Remove the ch ild restraint according the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower anchorages are v isible .
.,. Pull off the gu idance fixtures from the low ­
er anchorages .
.,. Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe p lace when not in use.
You may find it easier to install ch ild re­
stra ints equipped with hooks attached to
straps without the guidance fixtures in place .
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix­
tures by pulling them off the anchorages. However , the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages.
A WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low­
er anchorages can cause serious personal injury in a crash .
- Always carefully follow the child re­ straint manufacturer's instructions for proper insta llation and use of child re­
straint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag­
es to attach safety belts or other k inds of
occupant restra ints .
- Ch ild restraint tether attachments and
lower attachments are only designed to
secure a ch ild restraint that has been
equ ipped to use these a ncho rages.
- Tethe r anchorages and lower anchorages
are designed to withstand only those loads imposed by correc tly fitted child
restraints. Under no ci rcumstance s can
they be used safely for adult or child
safety belts or harnesses .

192 Child Safe ty
- Never mount more than one chi ld re­
straint to a single tether or to a lower an­
chorage point. Attaching two child re­
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se­
rious personal inju ry in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fold ing the rear seatback to prevent
damaging the seat cushion.
- To attach the child restraint secure ly, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear pos ition, the seat height set to the low­
est posit ion and the head restra int must
be adjusted to the verti cal position
¢page 60.
-If you leave the guidance fixtures instal­
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery o n the sea t cush ­
i on and backrest in the a rea that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled . The up­
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guidance fixtures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in­
structions.
F ig. 1 85 Lower a nchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
"" Make sure the sea tba ck of the rear sea t
bench is in the upright position and sec urely
l atched in place. ""
Attach both hook -on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place¢
fig. 185.
"" Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are p roper ly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
"" Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child re­
straint manufacture r's instructions.
Releasing
"" Loosen the tension on the straps following
the ch ild restra int manufacturer's instruc ­
tions .
"" Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lowe r anchorag­
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
ch ild restra int fi rm ly in pla ce.
.&_ WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system ca n in­
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a n accident.
- These ancho rs were deve loped on ly for
child safety seats using the "LA TCH" sys ­
tem .
- Never at ta ch other ch ild safety sea ts,
be lts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latch ing the seat in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the vehi­
cle .
.&_ WARNING
-
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r isk of injury i n an acci­
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper
i n stallation of the ch ild restra int system
and p roper use of teth er straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety bel ts in
-
your veh icle. Ii-