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 . 218 Sche matic overv iew: rearward-fac ing infant
seat, properly installed o n the rear seat
.,. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a ch ild safety seat, you must first activate
the convertible locking retracto r on the
safety be lt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢ page 215 or install the seat
using the LA T CH attachments.
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt rea lly 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
¢page 210.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infan t carriers
and child safety seats designed for their age
group . Many experts believe that infants and
small children should ride only in spec ial re
straints in which the ch ild faces the back of
the vehicle. These infant seats support the ba
by's back, neck and head in a crash
¢fig . 218.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a po tentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forward -facing child seat.
It is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
l arger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
Child Safety 211
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using t he
wrong child safety seat or improperly in
stall ing a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal injury and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the front pas
senger seat -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A ch ild will be ser iously in
jured and ca n be killed when the inflat
ing airbag hits the child safety seat or in
fant carrier with great force and smashes the child safety seat and child against
the backrest, center armrest, door or
roof ¢
page 186, Child restraints on the
front seat- some important things to
know .
-Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restraint
in the forward-fac ing d irect ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
and cannot prote ct them properly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you mus t insta ll a rearward fac ing
child sa fety 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 .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
wheneve r us ing a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 175 , Safety
belts,
¢ page 184, Airbag system and
¢ page 205, Important things to know.
212 Child Safety
Convertible child safety seats
Properly used convertible child safety seats
can help protect toddlers and children over
age one who weigh between
20 and 40 lbs. (9
and 18 kg) in a crash.
Fig. 219 Schematic overv iew : ins tallat ion of t he at
ta chments applicable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 220 Sche matic overview: insta llation of th e sea t
us ing t he veh icle's safety be lt system
.. When using the vehicle safety belt to install
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 ¢
page 215 or install the seat using
the LATCH attachments .
.. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really t ight
so that the seat cannot move forward or sideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
¢page 215.
.. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 222.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 210.
A toddler or child is usually too large for an in
fant restra int if it is more than one year o ld
and weighs more than 20 lbs. (9 kg). T
oddlers 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
¢ fig . 219 and ¢ fig. 220 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentia lly 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.
_&. WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or improp erly in
stalling a chi ld 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 chi ld in a rearward-facing
child safety seat installed on the front passenger seat will be serious ly injured
and can be killed if the front airbag in
f la tes -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install 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 exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dealer.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possible ..,.
214 Child Saf ety
• Secure unused safety be lts on the rear seat
9 page 210.
Ch ildren up to at least 8 years old (over 40
l bs. or 18 kg) are best protected in chi ld safe
ty seats designed for their age and weight. Ex perts say that the ske leta l structure, particu
larly the pelvis, of these chi ldren is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts w ithout a su itable child restraint .
It is us ually best to put these children in ap
propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicab le 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 ch ild's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Ch ildren who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (57 in
ches/1.4S meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three po int lap and shoulder belts .
Neve r use the lap belt portion of the veh icle's
safety belt a lone to restrain any child, regard
l ess of how b ig the child is. Always remembe r
that c hildren do not have the pronounced pe l
vic structure required for the proper function
of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder be lts. The child's safety ab
solutely requires that a lap be lt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as
possible around the pelvis . Never let the lap
be lt portion of the safety belt pass over the
chi ld's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with cons iderable 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
i n flat ing airb ag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she wi ll be struck violen tly and will
receive serious or possib ly even fatal in
jury .
In orde r fo r the ai rbag to offer protect ion, i t is
i mportant that a ll vehicle occupants, espe cial
ly any children, who m ust be in the front seat
because of exceptiona l circumstances , be
proper ly 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 prov ide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions .
.&, WARNING
Not using a booste r seat, using the boos
ter seat improperly, inco rrectly installing a
booster seat or using the vehicle sa fety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri
ous persona l injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situat ion. To he lp re
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shou lder belt must lie as close to the
center of the ch ild's collar bone as possi
b le and must lie flat and snug on the up
per body . It must neve r lie across the
throat or neck. The lap belt must lie
across the pe lvis and neve r ac ross t he
stomach o r abdomen. Make sure the belt
liesflat andsnug.Pullon thebelt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to p roperly ro ute s afe ty belts
over a child's body wi ll ca use seve re inj u
ries in an accident o r other emergency
situation
¢ page 175 .
- The rear side o f the child sa fety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficu lt to install the ch ild
seat with the head restraint in p lace
c::> page 77 . Install the head restraint
aga in immediately once the ch ild seat is
removed. D riving without head restraints
or w ith head restra ints that a re not prop
erly ad justed increases the risk of serious
.
or fatal neck in jury dramatically . ""
216 Child Safety
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- 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 205 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::> page 186, 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
<=:> page 195, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Improper installation of child restraints
can reduce their effectiveness or even
prevent them from providing any protec
tion.
- An improperly installed child restraint
can interfere with the airbag as it de
ploys and seriously injure or even kill the
child. -
Always carefully follow the manufactur
er's instructions provided with the child
safety seat or carrier.
- Never place additional items on the seat
that can increase the total weight regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash .
A WARNING
-Forward-facing child restraints:
- Always make sure the forward-facing
seat has been designed and certified by its manufacturer for use on a front seat
with a passenger front and side airbag .
- Never put the forward-facing child re straint up, against or very near the in
strument panel.
- Always move the passenger seat into its
rearmost position in the seat's fore and
aft adjustment range, as far away from
the airbag as possible before installing
the forward-facing child restraint. The
backrest must be adjusted to an upright
position.
- Make sure that the PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on .
A WARNING
Rearward-facing child restraints:
- A child in a rearward-facing child safety
seat installed on the front passenger
seat will be seriously injured and can be killed if the front airbag inflates -even
with an Advanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will hit the child
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always be especially careful if you must
install a rearward facing child safety seat
on the front passenger seat in exception-
al circumstances.
~
-A tight tether strap on a rearward-facing
child restraint attached to the front pas
senger seat can put too much pressure on the weight-mat in the seat and regis
ter a heavier weight in the Advanced Air
bag System . The heavier weight regis
tered can make the system work as
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 .
-
•
•
-Improper use of child restra int anchors
(incl uding tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a co llision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted ch ild restraints .
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor po int.
- Never attach two child restraint systems
to one tether strap or tether anchorage.
- Never attach a tether strap to a tie-down
hook in the luggage compartment.
- Never use ch ild restra int tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restra ints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to t he LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tac h a child restraint to the fro nt passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
t ight, that it causes the we ight-sensing
mat to measu re mo re weight than is ac
t ual ly on the seat.
- T he heav ier we ight reg iste red can make
the Advanced Airbag System wo rk as
though an adult were on the seat and de ploy the Adva nced Ai rbag when it must
be s uppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child.
- If you must install a rearward facing
child safety seat on the front passenger
seat because of exceptional circ umstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rear-facing child
safety seat in a rear seating posi tion and
have the a irbag system inspected by you r
Audi dealer.
Child S afety 223
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig . 230 Tet her st rap: prope r rout ing a nd mounti ng
Fi g. 23 1 Tet her st rap fo r seco nd row sea ts: prope r
rou ting and moun tin g
Installing the tether strap
... Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child res traint accord ing to the child re
st raint manufacture r's ins tructions .
... Guide the upper tether strap
und er the rear
head restraint and into the rear ca rgo area
(raise the head restraint if necessary).
... Fo r the second row o f seats: Pull the floor
ing back, in order to reach the anchor brack
et
c:::> fig. 231 .
... Fo r the third row of seat s:* Remove the
plastic cover cap with a screw drive r, in orde r
to reach the anchor bracket
c:::> page 222,
fig . 229.
.,. Slide the tether strap hoo k over the anchor
bracket .
... Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages .
.,. Tighten the tether strap firmly follow ing
the child restra int manufacturer's instruc
tions .
.,. For the second r ow of s eats : Push the floor-
ing forward into place again.
11-
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
Trailer towing Driving with a trailer
General information
Your Audi was designed primarily for passen
ger transportation .
If you plan to tow a trailer, please remember
that the additional load will affect durability,
economy and performance .
Trailer towing not only places more stress on
the vehicle, it also calls for more concentra
tion from the driver.
For this reason, always follow the operating
and driving instructions provided and use
common sense.
(D Note
If you are going to tow a trailer, you must
activate the trailer operation mode
q page 159, Towing a trailer.
Technical requirements
Trailer hitch
Use a weight-carrying hitch conforming to the
gross trailer weight. The hitch must be suita ble for your vehicle and trailer and must be
mounted securely on the vehicle's chassis at a
technically sound location. Use only a trailer
hitch with a removable ball mount. Always
check with the trailer hitch manufacturer to
make sure that you are using the correct
hitch.
Do not use a bumper hitch.
The hitch must be installed in such a way that
it does not interfere with the impact-absorb
ing bumper system. No modifications should
be made to the vehicle exhaust and brake sys
tems . From time to time, check that all hitch
mounting bolts remain securely fastened.
When you are not towing a trailer, remove the
trailer hitch ball mount. This prevents the
hitch from causing damage should your vehi
cle be struck from behind~.&.
Trailer towing 241
Trailer brakes
If your trailer is equipped with a braking sys
tem, check to be sure that it conforms to all
regulations.
The trailer hydraulic brake system must not be
directly connected to the vehicle's hydraulic
brake system
q .& .
Safety chains
Always use safety chains between your vehicle
and the trailer.
Trailer lights
Trailer lights must meet all regulations. Be
sure to check with your authorized Audi dealer
for correct wiring, switches, and relays.
Mirrors
If you are unable to see the traffic behind you
using the regular outside mirrors, then you
must install extended mirrors.
It is important
that you always have clear vision to the rear.
_&. WARNING
-If a trailer has electrical brakes please
note that these brakes are not activated
by the factory-fitted control unit -risk of
accident!
- After removing the trailer hitch, do not
store it in your vehicle. In case of sudden
braking, the hitch could fly forward and
injure you or your passengers.
- Never install a "weight distributing" or
"load equalizing" trailer hitch on your ve
hicle. The vehicle was not designed for
these kinds of trailer hitches. The hitch
attachment can fail, causing the trailer
to tear loose from the vehicle.
- The Gross Vehicle Weight Rating for your
vehicle, found on the safety compliance
label on the driver's side B-pillar, must
never be exceeded under any circumstan
ces. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle Weight
Rating of your vehicle is likely to damage
your vehicle, and such damage will not
be covered by your Limited New Vehicle
-
Warranty. Exceeding the Gross Vehicle ~
•
•