-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
though an adult were on the seat and de
ploy 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
Child Safety 21 7
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).
_&. 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 205. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 186, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
-
•
•
218 Child Saf ety
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 be lt
buck le. The belt tongue wi ll pop out of the
buck le .
.. Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
A lways le t the safety belt retract complete ly
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertib le locking r etractor for chi ld
restra ints .
I f the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt m ust
be unfastened and guided completely back in
to its stowed pos ition to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the convertible 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 unfaste n the safety belt to deacti
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild rest rain ts while the veh icle is mov
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 205. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
<=> page 186, 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 p rov ide a simpler and more practicable way
to a ttach the child restra int on the vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ia l lowe r
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
T he combination of the tether anc horages and
the lowe r anchorages is now genera lly ca lled
t h e
LATCH system fo r "Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Child ren."
F o rward-facing chi ld restrai nts ma nufactured
after September 1, 1999, are requ ired by U .S .
f edera l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement performance req uirements.
These new performance req uirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the performance of the c hild restra int and its abil
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a chi ld 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 w ith
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps .
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
rest raint firmly in place.
A WARNING
-Imp roper installat ion of ch ild restra ints
will i ncrease the r is k of injury a nd death i n
a crash.
-
220 Child Safe ty
A ll child restraints man ufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are on ly intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages . Child
restra ints that are not equipped with the tow
er anchorage attachments can still be instal led in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instruct ions on using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can ca use serio us pe rsonal injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
strain ts manufac turer's instruct io ns for
proper installation of the child restraint
and proper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure o r attach any l uggage or
ot her items to the
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 205,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Applies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and are availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
Fig . 225 Thir d row of seats: install ing the gu idance fix ·
tures
0
Fig. 226 Close-up: fitting the guidance fixture over t he
l ower anchorage bracket
T he lower ancho rage attachment poi nts are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the conven ience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possib le damage when instal
ling ch ild restra ints .
Installing the guid anc e fixture s
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
tower anchorages are v is ible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
d irection of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 226 .
.,. Make s ure that ea ch of the two guidance fix
t ures per sea t snaps into place.
Removing the guidance fixtures
.,. Remove the ch ild restraint according the
child restraint manufacture r's instructions .
.,. Push down on the seat cus hion so that the
lowe r ancho rages are v is ible.
.,. Pull off the gu idance fixtures from the low
er ancho rages .
.,. Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe p lace when not in use .
You may find it easier to install c hild re
straints equ ipped with hooks attached to
straps witho ut the g uidance 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 . ..,.
_& 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 installation and use of child re
straint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag
es to attach safety belts or other kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments and
lower attachments are only designed to
secure a child restraint that has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- Tether anchorages and lower anchorages
are designed to withstand only those
loads imposed by correctly fitted child
restraints. Under no circumstances can
they be used safely for adult or child
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one child 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 injury in a crash.
(D Note
-Remove the guidance fixtures before
folding the rear seatback to prevent
damaging the seat cushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
led for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upholstery on the seat cush
ion and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were installed. The up
holstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guidance fixtures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Child Safety 221
Installing a child restra int with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
Fig. 227 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and securely
latched 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. 227.
.. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.. Pull straps tight following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
.. loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING '-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
222 Child Safe ty
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats us ing the ''LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other child safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latching the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secure and
cou ld fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be ejected from the vehi cle.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury in an acc i
dent.
- Always fo llow the child restraint system
ma nufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the child restraint system
and proper use of tether straps as we ll as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
yo ur vehicle.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems ¢
page 205, Child Safe
ty.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 228 Tether anchors for second row of seats: at
t ac hm ent hook locatio ns
-
Fig. 229 Tet her anchors fo r thir d row of seats: attach
men t hook loca tions
The tether anchors for the three rear seating
positions in the second row of seats are locat
ed underneath the seats in the back
c> fig. 228. For vehicles with third row seat
ing*, the tether anchors for the two seating
pos itions in the third row of seats are stored
u nderneath a p lastic cover cap in the floor
c> fig . 229 .
A tether is a stra ight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a ch ild restra int to
special anchorage po ints in the vehicle .
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a
crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by striking t he ve
hicle inte rior .
Forward facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federa l regu lations to comply with new child
head movement perfo rmance requ irements .
T hese new perfo rma nce req uirements make a
tether nece ssary on most new child safety
seats .
,&_ WARNING
-= -Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death i n
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re-
straint you intend to install in your Audi. ..,_
224 Child Saf ety
Re leas ing th e te th er str ap
.. Loosen the tension following the child re
stra int manufacturer's instructions.
.. Depress the spring catch on the hook and
release it from the anchorage .
.. Fo r t he seco nd ro w of se ats: Push the floor
ing forward into place again.
.. For the th ird r ow of seats :* Replace the
plast ic cover cap .
(D Note
If you leave the child restraint with the
tether strap firmly installed for several
days, this could leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
in the area whe re the tether strap was in
stalled. The uphols tery would a lso be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies especially to leather
seats .
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Currently , few rear -facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether . P lease read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
e r's instructions caref ully to determine how to
p roperly insta ll the tethe r.
& WARNING
A child in a rearward -facing child safety
seat insta lled on the front passenger seat
w ill be seriously injured and can be ki lled if
the front a irbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The inflating airbag will hit the child safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and w ill smash the ch ild safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, or door .
- A tight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-facing child restra int attached to
the front passenger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weigh t in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ier weight registered can make the system
work as though an adult were on the seat
and deploy the Advanced Airbag when it must be suppressed causing ser ious or
even fatal injury to the ch ild.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ces and the
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
Audi dea ler.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
T here are a number of sou rces of add itiona l
information about child restraint se lection, in
sta llation and use:
N HT SA advises that the best chi ld safety seat
is the one that fits your ch ild and fits in you r
vehicle, and that yo u will use correct ly and
consistently.
T ry before yo u buy!
U. S Nat ional Highw ay Traffi c Safety Admin
i s trat ion
Tel.: 1-888-327-4 236 (TIY: 1-800-424-9153)
http://www.nhtsa.gov
N ati onal SAFE KID S Camp aign
Tel.: (202) 662-0600
http://www.safekids .o rg
S af ety Belt Saf e U. S.A
T el.: (800) 7 45 -SAFE (Eng Lish)
Tel.: (800) 747-SANO (Span ish)
http://www.ca rseat.org
T ranspo rt Ca nad a Info rmation Centre
Tel.: 1-800 -333-0371 or call
1-613-998-8616 if you are in the Ottawa area
http://www.tc.gc.ca/eng/ roadsafety/
menu.htm
Aud i Cu stom er R elation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
226 Intellig ent technol ogy
The vehicle is then stabilized by the forces act
ing on the whee l during braking. If the vehicle
is
oversteering (rear tends to sk id out of the
turn), the brakes are ma inly applied on the
wheel that is on the outside of the curve. In
the case of a vehicle that is
understeering
(tendency to slide out of the curve), the
brakes are applied as needed on the whee l
that is on the ins ide of the curve or addit ional
l y on the o ther wheels. An acoustic s ignal indi
cates when ESC b rake app lication cuts in
¢ A .
The system operates across the entire speed
range in combination with the ABS system
¢ page 229. If the Anti-Lock Brake System
(ABS) malfunctions, the ESC wi ll be out of ac
tion as well .
Activating
When you turn on the engine, ESC w ill auto
mat ica lly be act ivated and will perform a se lf
test. As soon as the test is comp leted, the sys
tem is in normal operating mode.
Offroad mod e
ESC should normally be ope rated in normal
mode because this ensures maximum vehicle
stability. If necessary, you can act ivate the
ESC offroad mode by pressing the but to n
¢ fig . 232 to obtain maximum traction and
braking ability when driving
off paved roads at
l ow speeds. In ESC offroad mode, the indica
tor light
Ii) ill uminates and the message Sta
b ilization control (E S C): Offr oad . Wa rning !
R estric te d stabilit y
appears br iefly in the dis
p lay .
The ESC offroad mode can be useful in the fo l
low ing except ional situations when slip or a
h ighly effective differential locking function is
des irable . Examp les:
- when driving with tire chains,
- when driving in deep snow or on loose
ground,
- when driving on uneven surfaces with the
whee ls severe ly unloaded (articulation), and
- when rocking the vehicle loose after it has
become stuck . When the
unusual situation is past, you
sho uld shift back to the norma l ESC operating
mode by pushing the button again . The mes
sage
S ta b ilizat ion cont rol (ES C): O n then ap
pears briefly in the display.
H ill desc ent control
The hill descent control is switched on in ESC
offroad mode . When slowly descending steep
gradients on loose ground or when the axles
are articulated, hill descent control provides ass istance by automatically apply ing the
brakes to keep vehicle speed constant. The ve
hicle is also rendered easier to steer by selec
t ive d istr ibut ion of braking force. Hill descent
control intervenes when:
- the acce lerator pedal is not pressed,
- the vehicle is travelling less than 12 mph
(20 km/h),
- a steep gradient is detected,
- wheel behavior indicates loose ground or
conditions with poor adhesion (e .g. also axle
art iculation).
Hill descent contro l operates both d riving for
ward and in reverse. Active hill descent con
tro l is deactivated by pressing the accelerator
pedal until the condit ions for activation al
ready listed are met again .
A WARNING
--
- The Electronic Stabilization Contro l is
neverthe less s ubject to the laws of phys
ics. It is part icularly important to pay at
tention to this fact on wet and slippe ry
roads . It i s therefore important that you
always adapt your dr iving to the cond i
tion of the road and traffic conditions . Do
not a llow the increased safety provided
by the E lectronic Stabilization Contro l
system to lull you into accepting addi
tional safety risks .
- Please be aware that in ESC offroad
mode, particularly on a smooth and s lip
pe ry road, the wheels may have an in
creased tendency to sp in and the vehicle
may b reak away - dange r of skidding!
~
-Stability is limited in the ESC offroad
mode.
Electronic differential lock (EDL)
The electronic differential lock monitors the
rotational speed of the drive wheels .
General notes
The electronic differentia l lock (EDL) helps the
car to start movi ng, accelerate and climb a
gradient on surfaces providing poor or almost
no grip. Without EDL, this would be difficult,
if not impossible.
H ow the system works
The ED L opera tes automatically. It monitors
the rotat iona l speed of wheels w ith the help
of the ABS sensors¢
page 229. If a noticea
b le
slip is detected at the wheels (e .g. on slip
pery ground
on one side), the spinning whee ls
are braked and power is transferred to the
other wheels. This is done up to a speed of
about
60 mph (100 km/h) . Noises from the
brake system s ignal that wheel sp in is being
controlled.
Dri ving off
When driving off, always be sure to keep road
conditions in mind as you accelerate. If one
drive wheel spins because it is on a surface
w ith less gr ip, apply
plenty of throttle until
the car starts to move.
O verheating of br akes
To prevent the disc brake of the braked wheel
from overheating if subjected to excessive
loads on this wheel, the EDL cuts out tempo
rarily . T he vehicle remains operational and be
haves in the same way as a veh icle w ithout
E DL.
As soon as the brake has cooled down, EDL
switches on again automatically .
A WARNING
-When accelerating on slippery surfaces,
such as on ice or snow, always be carefu l
when depressing the acce le rator pedal.
Int ellig ent technolog y 22 7
Even with the EDL working, the drive
wheels can spin and red uce your ab ility
to control your car. Risk of crash!
- The increased safety afforded by EDL
does not mean that you can take safety
risks. Always adapt your driving style to
the road condit ions and traffic situation .
(D Tips
If a fault occurs in the ABS, the EDL is also
not functioning. This is ind icated by the
ABS warning light¢
page 18.
Anti-Slip Regulation System (ASR )
The Anti-Slip Regulation System prevents the
driven wheels from spinning when the car is
accelerating .
General note s
The Anti-Slip Regu lation System (ASR) is inte
grated in the Electronic Stabilization Control
(ESC). When the vehicle starts up and acceler
ates, the wheels are prevented from spinning
by adjust ing the engine power to match the
amount of grip available from the road sur
face .
How the sy stem works
ASR performs automat ically, i.e. without the
driver's intervention. With the aid of the ABS
sensors ¢
page 229, ASR monito rs the speed
of the dr iven wheels .
If the wheels start to
spin, engine torque is red uced automat ically
unt il the t ires find enough grip to lock onto
the ro ad surface. The system is active across
the entire speed range.
T he ASR works in conjunction with the ABS. If
a malfunc tion s hou ld occu r in the ABS, the
ASR wi ll also be out of act io n.
A WARNING ~
The increased safety affo rded by ASR does
not mean that you can take safety risks.
A lways adapt your driving sty le to the road
conditions and traffic situation.
Ill--
•
•