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 . 162 Schematic overview: installat ion of the at
tachments appl icable to a LA TCH seat
.r
F ig. 163 Schem atic overview: installat ion of t he seat
using the vehicle 's s afety b elt system
.. 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 168 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
s ideways more than one inch (2.5 cm)
c:;, page 168.
.,. Secure un used safety belts on the rear sea t
c:;, page 163.
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) .
Toddlers and ch ildren who are older than one
year up to about 4 years o ld and weigh more
than 20 lbs . (9 kg) up to 40 lbs. (18 kg) must
Child S afety 165
always be properly restrained in a child safety
seat certified for their size and weight
¢fig.162 and c::> fig .163 .
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 p lace for an in
fant or a larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat or imprope rly in
stalling a ch ild restraint increases the risk
of ser ious personal inju ry and death in a
coll is ion or other emergency sit uat ion.
- Ch ildren o n the front seat of any ca r,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be se ri
ously i njured or
even k ill ed when an air
bag inflates . A child 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 hit the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child agai nst the backrest, center
armrest, doo r or roof .
- Always install rea rward -facing chi ld safe
ty seats on the rear seat.
- If you must install a rearward fac ing
child safety seat on t he front passenge r
seat because of exceptional c ircumstan
ce s and t he
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does no t come o n and stay on, im
mediately insta ll the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seating posi
tion and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized A udi dealer .
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as poss ib le
to the backrest on the vehicle seat.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave-
hicle is being used
c:;, page 129, Safety 11>
166 Child Safety
belts, ¢page 137, Airbag system and
c:> page 158, 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.
- 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.
- 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 light does not stay on, perform the
checks ¢
page 148, Monitoring the Ad ·
vanced 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 .
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. 164 Rea r seat : child p rop erly r estrained in a boo s
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 the
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 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>page 163.
Children up to about 40 lbs. (18 kg) are best
protected in child safety seats designed for
their age and weight. Experts say that the
skeletal structure, particularly the pelvis, of
these children is not fully developed, and they must not use the vehicle safety belts without
a suitable child res traint.
...
168 Child Saf ety
- If the PASS ENGER AIR BAG O FF li ght
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described
c:> page 148, 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being used
c:> page 129, Safety
belts, c:>page
137, Airbag sy st em and
<:?v page 158, 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
pas senger 's seat can be locked with the con
vertible locking retractor to properly secure
child safety seats.
The safe ty belts eme rgency lock ing re tractors
fo r the re ar seats safe ty belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con
vertible locking retracto r fo r child restraints.
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety be lt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during normal driving . A child safety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
i s locked so that the child and child safety
seat will stay in place.
A lways remember: Even thoug h your veh icle is
eq uipped w it h an Advanced A irbag system, all
ch ildren , espec ia lly those 12 yea rs and yo ung
e r, should always ride in the ba ck seat proper
l y res traine d for thei r age and weig ht.
_& WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child sa fe ty seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision. -
Always make sure that the safety belt re
tractor is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place dur ing no rma l dr iving o r in a
crash .
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly aroun d
du ring a s udden st op or in a colli sion.
- I f the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
throw n forward toge ther with t he ba ck
rest and will strike par ts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be se riously in
jured or killed.
- Never inst all rearward-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr iers on the front pas
senger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen
ger airbag i nflates.
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
and child aga inst the back rest , center
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rearward-facing ch ild safe
ty seats or infa nt carriers on the rea r
seat .
- Forwa rd-facing child safety seats or in
fant car riers installed on the front pas
senger's seat may interfere with t he de
p loyment of t he a irbag and cause serious
i njur y to the child .
-It is safer to ins tall a forward-facing
child safety seat on the rear seat.
- Always read and heed all WAR NIN GS
whe neve r using a child restrai ned in ave
h icle i s being u sed
c:> page 158. Special
p reca utions apply when ins tal ling a child
safety seat on the fron t passenger seat
c:> page 138, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
_& WARNING
--
Always take specia l precautions if you
must install a forwa rd or rearward-facing
1 70 Child Safety
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 w ith 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 .
•Pullon 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 158. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 138, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
'
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
T he convertible locking retractor for child re
strain ts will be deactiva ted automatically
when the bel t is wound all the way back in to
the retractor .
• Press the red button on the safety belt buck
le . The belt tongue will pop out of the buck
le .
• Guide the safety belt all the way back into
its stowed position .
Always let the safety bel t retract completely
into its stowed position . The safety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertible locking retractor for child
restraints.
If the convertible locking retractor should 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 convertible locking retractor is not
deactivated , the safety belt will gradually be-
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
11>-
172 Child Saf ety
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the ch ild restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and dev ices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages .
The combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally called
the
LAT CH system for " Lower Anchorages and
Tethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply with new child head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a chi ld restraint that requires a top
tether without one can serious ly impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its abi l
ity to protect the ch ild in a collision. Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v iolation of
state law .
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on the ir ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps .
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child restra int firmly in place .
Tether ancho rage s
Your Audi Cabriolet is not equipped with a
LATCH system. It is no t equ ipped with top
tether anchorages. It is equipped with lower
anchorages only.
Your Cabriolet is equipped with the Active Rollover Protection System, which is integrat- ed into the backrest o
f the rear seat . The Ac
tive Ro llover Protection System dep loys up
wards to he lp provide addit ional protection in
certain co llisions and crash s ituations. For this
reason, your vehicle is
not equipped with top
tether anchorages for use with forward -facing
child restra ints .
In Canada , provinc ial law requ ires that for
ward-fac ing ch ild restra ints use both top teth
er anchorages and lower anchorages; there
fore, it is
not possible to install a forward-fac
ing ch ild restra int in this vehicle.
In the United States , child restraint installa
t ion must conform w ith the child restraint
manufacture r's instructions . Check the in
structions that come w ith the child restra int
o r contact the manufactu rer to determine if
the ch ild restraint may be insta lled fac ing fo r
ward witho ut securing the top tether s trap .
A WARNING
=
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the r isk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATC H 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 LATC H lower anchorage point .
- Never secure or attach any luggage or other item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es .
(D Tips
In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages .
-
Location
Fig. 165 Schematic overview: LATCH anchorage point
locations
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped w ith the low
er anchorages system.
Description
The Lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick Locating.
Fig . 166 Rear seatbacks: locator bu tto ns for lower an
chora ges
Fig. 167 Rear seats: lower ancho rage bracket locations
Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
C ircular locator buttons on the rear seatback
i ndi cate the lower anchorage locations on the
rea r seat ing pos itions
¢ fig . 166.
Child S afety 173
Lo w er anchorag es
The lower anchorage attachmen t points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
c:;, fig . 167 .
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat withou t using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint 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 only intended for insta llation and a ttach
ment of chi ld restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Chi ld
restraints 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 using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
Imp roper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious persona l injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re
straints manufacturer's instructions for proper insta llation of the child res traint
and p roper use of the lower anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about child restraints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
c:;, page 158,
Child Safety.
Checking and filling Engine hood
Releasing and opening the engine hood
The engine hood is released from inside the
vehicle .
Fig. 175 Dr iver's side footwell: eng ine hood release
lever
F ig . 176 Re lease lever un der the engine hood
Before opening the engine hood, make sure
that the windshield wipers are flat against the
windshield. Otherwise, they could damage the
paint on the hood.
.. Pull the release lever on the left under the
instrument panel in the direction of the ar
row
<::)fig. 175.
.. Raise the hood slightly Q &.
.. Press the rocker switch under the hood up
ward
c::> fig . 176 . This re leases the catch .
.,. Open the hood.
& WARNING
Hot engine coo lant can burn you.
- To redu ce the r isk of being burned, never
open the hood if yo u see or hear steam
or coolant escaping from the engine
compartment. Wait until no steam or
Checkin g and fillin g 207
coolant can be seen or heard before care
fully opening the hood.
Closing the engine hood
.. Pull the hood down until the pressure from
the struts is reduced .
.. Let the hood
drop down and latch in place .
Do not try to push it shut; it may fail to en
gage
c::> &, .
_&. WARNING
-
A hood that is not comple tely latched
could fly up and b lock your view while dr iv
ing.
- When you close the engine hood, chec k it
to make sure the safety catch has p rope r
ly engaged . The hood sho uld be flush
with the surrounding vehicle body parts .
-If you notice while driv ing that the hood
is not secured properly, stop at once and
close it.
Working in the engine compartment
Be especially careful whenever you work in the engine compartment .
Whenever yo u mu st p erform an y w or k in th e
eng ine compa rtment, for example checking
and filling differ ent fluid s, there i s a ri sk of
injury , burn s and accide nts. To prevent per
sonal injury al ways obser ve the foll owing
WARNINGS . The eng ine compa rtment of an y
v ehicle is a hazardous are a
QA .
_&. WARNING
To help avoid injury, before you check any
thing under the hood:
- Turn off the engine.
- Remove the ignition key.
- Apply the parking brake .
- Move selector lever of automatic trans -
mission to "P" (Park).
- Always le t the engine cool down . Hot
components wi ll bur n skin on contact .
-Read the requir ed tire pressure from the tire
pressure label. The tire pressure label is lo
cated on the driver's side B-pillar. The tire
pressure label lists the recommended cold
t ire inf lation pressures for the vehicle at its
maximum capacity weight and the tires that
were on your vehicle at the time it was man
ufactured . For recommended tire pressures
for normal load conditions, please see chap
ter ~
page 226.
- Turn the valve stem cap counter-clockwise
to remove it from the tire valve.
- Place the air pressure gauge on the valve .
- The tire pressures should only be checked
and adjusted when the tires are cold . The
slightly raised pressures of warm tires must
not be reduced.
- Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carry ing.
- Reinstall the valve stem cap on the valve .
When should I check the tire pressure?
The correct tire pressure is especially impor
tant at high speeds. The pressure should
therefore be checked at least once a month
and always before starting a journey .
When should I adjust the tire pressures?
Adjust the tire pressure to the load you are
carry ing. After changing a wheel
or replacing
wheels you have to adjust the tire pressures
on all wheels. In addition, you must then initi
alize the new tire pressures in the tire pres
sure monitoring system*~
page 240.
A WARNING
Incorrect tire pressures and/or underinfla
tion can lead sudden tire failure, loss of
control, collision, serious personal injury
or even death.
- When the
[9] warning symbol appears in
the instrument cluster, stop and inspect
the tires.
- Incorrect tire pressure and/or underinfla
tion can cause increased tire wear and
can affect the handling of the vehicle and
stopping ability.
Tires and wheels 229
- Incorrect tire pressures and/or underin
flation can also lead to sudden tire fail
ure, including a blowout and sudden de
flation, causing loss of vehicle control.
- The driver is responsib le for the correct
tire pressures for all tires on the vehicle.
The applicable pressure values are locat
ed on a sticker on the driver's side B-pil lar.
- Only when all tires on the vehicle are fil
led to the correct pressure, the tire pres
sure monitoring system* can work cor
rectly.
- The use of incorrect tire pressure values
can lead to accidents or other damage.
Therefore it is essential that the driver
observe the specified tire pressure values
for the tires and the correct pressures for
the function of the tire pressure monitor ing system*.
- Always inflate tires to the recommended
and correct tire pressure before driving
off.
- Driving with underinflated tires bend
more, letting them get too hot resulting
in tread separation, sudden tire failure
and loss of control.
- Excessive speed and/overloading can
cause heat build-up, sudden tire failure
and loss of control.
- If the tire pressure is too low or too high,
the t ires will wear prematurely and the
vehicle will not handle well.
- If the tire is not flat and you do not have
to change a wheel immediately , drive at
reduced speed to the nearest service sta
tion to check the tire pressure and add
air as required.
(D Note
Driving without valve stem caps can cause
damage to the tire valves. To prevent this,
always make sure that factory installed
valve stem caps on all wheels are securely
mounted on the valve.
•
•