Page 177 of 286

LATCH Lower
anchorages and tether
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a s impler and more pract icable way
to attach the chi ld restraint on the vehicle
seat, Federa l reg ulations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and dev ices 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
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Children ."
F orward-facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S.
federal regulations to comply wit h new c hild
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a tether necessary on most new chi ld seats.
I nstal ling a chi ld restraint that requi res a top
tether witho ut one can serio usly impair the
performance of the chi ld restraint and its ab il
ity to protect the c hild in a co llision . Installing
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a v io lation of
state law.
Ch ild restra int manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on the ir ch ild seats with
hook -on or push-on connecto rs 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 anchorage s
Your Audi Cabriolet is not equipped with a
LATCH system. It is not equ ipped with top
tether anchorages. It is equipped with lower
anchorages only.
Your Cabriolet is equipped with the Active Rollover Protection System, w hich is integrat-
Child Sa fet y 175
ed into the back rest of the rear seat . The Ac
tive Ro llover P rotection System dep loys up
wards to he lp prov ide 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
c hi ld restra ints.
In Canada , provinc ial law requ ires that for
ward-fac ing ch ild restraints use both top teth
er anchorages and lower anchorages; the re
fore, it is
not pos sib le to install a forward-fac
ing child restra int in this vehicle.
In the United States , child restraint installa
tion must conform w ith the child restraint
manufacture r's instructions. Check the in
structions that come w ith the c hild restra int
o r contact the ma nufactu rer to determine if
the ch ild res traint may be ins ta lled fac ing fo r
ward without sec uring the top te ther strap .
A WARNING ,..__
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacture r of the child re
straint yo u 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 wi thstand on ly
those loads i mposed by co rrectly fitted
child r est raints.
- Never mount two ch ild 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.
@ Tips
In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages .
•
•
Page 178 of 286

1 76 Child Safety
location
Fig. 163 Schematic overview: LATCH anchorage point
locations
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipp ed with the low
er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig. 164 Rear seatbacks: locator buttons for lower an
chorages
Fig. 165 Rear seats: lower anchorage bracket locations
Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback
indicat e the lower anchorage locations on the
rear seating positions
¢ fig . 164.
lower anchorages
Th e lower anchorage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
¢fig. 165.
Lower anchorages secure the child restraint 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 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 points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child
restraints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal
led in compliance with the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
.&_ WARNING
-Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac
cident.
-Always carefully follow the child re
straints manufacturer's instructions for proper installation of the child restraint
and proper 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
¢page 161,
Child Safety.
Page 179 of 286

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 . 166 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mou nting
~ 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 LATC H lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into p lace
c::> fig. 166 .
~Pullon the connector attachments to make
s u re they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
~ Pull straps tight following the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
Releasing
~ Loosen the te nsion on the straps following
the chi ld restraint manufacturer's instr uc
tions.
~ Depress the spring catches to re lease the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
child restraint firmly in p lace.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system can in
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in an acc ident.
Child S afety 177
- These anchors were deve loped only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other chi ld safety seats,
belts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click
when latch ing the seat in p lace. 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 ejected from the veh i
cle .
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of ch ild rest ra ints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's inst ruct io ns for prope r
installation of the ch ild restra int system
and proper use of te ther s traps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your vehicle.
- Always read and heed the im portant in
formation and WARNINGS about chi ld
safety and the insta llation of chi ld re
straint systems
c::> page 161, Child Safe
ty.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
-
Currently, few rearward-facing chi ld res traint
systems come w ith a tether . Please read and
heed the ch ild restraint system ma nufactur
er's instr uctions carefully to dete rmine how to
proper ly install the tether.
A WARNING
-
A child in a rearward-fac ing chi ld safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser iously injured and can be killed if
the front airbag inflates - even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or i nfant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat
11>-
Page 180 of 286

178 Child Saf ety
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 weight in the
Advanced Airbag System. The heav ier
we ight registered can make the system
wor k as though an adu lt were on the seat
and dep loy the Advan ced Airbag when i t
must be suppressed ca using 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
PASSENG ER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im
med iately install the rearward-facing
child safety seat in a rear seat ing pos i
t io n and have the airbag system inspect
ed by your authorized Audi dea le r.
Additional Information
Sources of information about child
restraints and their use
There are a number of sources of additional
information about ch ild restraint select ion, in
stallat io n and use:
NHTSA advises that the best child safety seat
is the one that fits your child and fits in your
vehicle, and that you w ill use correctly and
consistently.
Try before you buy!
U.S N ation al H ighw ay Traffic S afety Admin
i s tr ation
Te l.: 1-888-327-4236 (TTY : 1-800-424-9153)
www .nhtsa.gov
N ation al SA FE KIDS Campaign
Te l.: (202) 662-0600
www .safekids.org
Safet y Belt Safe U.S.A
Tel.: (800) 74S-SAFE (English)
Tel.: (800) 747 -SANO (Span ish)
www.carseat .org
T ransport Can ada Information Centre
Tel.: 1-800-333-0371 or ca ll
1-6 13-998-86 16 if yo u are in the Ottawa area
http://www .tc.gc.ca/eng/roadsafety/
menu. htm
Audi Cu stome r Rel ation s
Tel.: (800) 822-2834
Page 181 of 286

Intelligent technology Notice about data
recorded by vehicle
control modules
Your vehicle is not equipped with an Event Da
ta Recorder (EDR), installed by some manu
facturers for the express purpose of capturing
data for retrieval after an accident or crash
event. EDR's are sometimes called "crash re
corders".
Some state laws restrict the retr ieval or down
loading of data stored by EDR's that were in
stalled in a vehicle for the express purpose of
retrieving data after an accident or crash
event without the owner's consent.
Although your vehicle is not equipped with an
EDR, it is equipped with a number of electron
ic control modules for various vehicle systems
such as, for examp le, engine function, emis
sion control, as well as for the airbags and
safety belts.
These electronic control modules also record
vehicle-related data during norma l vehicle op
eration for diagnostic and repair purposes.
The recording capacity of the electronic con
trol modules is limited to data (no sound is re
corded) and only a small amount of data is ac
tually recorded over a very limited period of
time and stored when a system fault or other
condition is sensed by a control unit. Some of
the data then stored may relate to vehicle
speed, direction, braking as we ll as restraint
system use and performance in the event of a
crash or other condition. Stored data can only be read and downloaded with special equip
ment.
Electronic Stabilization
Control (ESC)
Description
ESC helps to improve road holding and vehicle
dynamics to help reduce the probability of
skidding and loss of veh icle control. It works
only when the engine is running. ESC detects
Intelligent technology 179
certain difficult driving situations, including
when the vehicle is beginning to spin (yaw)
out of control and helps you to get the veh icle
back under control by se lectively braking the
wheels, and/or reducing engine power and
providing steering ass istance to help hold the
vehicle on the driver's intended course. The in
dicator light
B.J in the instrument cluster
blinks when ESC is taking action to help you
control the vehicle.
ESC has limitations .
It is important to remem
ber that ESC cannot overcome the laws of
physics.
It will not always be able to help out
under all conditions you may come up against.
For example, ESC may not always be able to
help you master situations where there is a
sudden change in the coefficient of friction of
the road surface. When there is a section of dry road that is suddenly covered with water,
slush or snow, ESC cannot perform the same
way it would on the dry surface . If the vehicle
hydroplanes (rides on a cushion of water in
stead of the road surface), ESC will not be
able to help you steer the vehicle because con
tact with the pavement has been interrupted
and the vehicle cannot be braked or steered .
During fast cornering, particularly on winding
roads, ESC cannot always deal as effectively
with difficu lt driving situations than at lower
speeds. When towing a trailer, ESC is not able
to help you regain control as it would if you
were not tow ing a trailer.
Always adjust your speed and driving style to road, traffic and weather conditions. ESC can
not override the vehicle's physical limits, in
crease the available traction, or keep a vehicle
on the road if road departure is a result of
driver inattention. Instead, ESC improves the
possibility of keeping the vehicle under con
trol and on the road dur ing extreme maneu
vers by using the driver's steering inputs to
help keep the vehicle going in the intended di
rection. If you are traveling at a speed that
causes you to run off the road before ESC can
provide any assistance, you may not experi
ence the benefits of ESC.
•
•
Page 182 of 286

180 Intelligent technology
ESC includes and/or works together with the
anti-lock brake system (ABS), brake assist sys
tem, anti-slip regulation (ASR) , e lectronic dif
ferential lock (EDL), dynamic steering" and
e lectronic interaxle differentia l lock* /selective
wheel torque control* . ESC is switched on all
the t ime. I n certa in s ituations whe n you need
l ess t raction, you can switch
off ASR by p ress
i ng the bu tto n
[ru ¢ page 181, fig. 167 or
¢page 181, fig. 168. Be sure to sw itch ASR
on aga in when yo u no longer need less t rac
tion .
Anti -lock braking system (ABS)
ABS prevents the wheels from locking up
when braki ng. The veh icle can still be steered
even d uring h ard br aking. Apply ste ady p res
sure to the brake pedal. Do no t pump the ped
a l. A pulsing in the brake peda l indicates t hat
the system is he lping yo u to b rake the vehicle .
Brake assist system
The brake assis t system can decrease b ra ki ng
d ista nce. It incre ases braking power w hen the
d river p resses the brake pedal q uic kl y in eme r
gency situations . You must p ress and hold the
b rake peda l until the situation is over. In
vehicles w ith adapt ive cru ise contro l", the
brake assist system is more sensit ive if the
d ista nce detected to t he vehicle a head is too
small.
Anti-slip regulation (ASR)
ASR reduces engine power when the drive
wheels begin to spin and adapts the fo rce to
the road condit ions. This makes it eas ier to
start , accelerate and drive up hills.
Electronic differenti al lock (EDL )
The ED L brakes wheels that are spinn ing and
transfers the drive power to the other drive
wheel or whee ls if t he vehicle is equipped with
all-w heel drive*. This function is available up
to about 60 mph (100 km/h).
In extreme cases, EDL automat ica lly switches
off to help keep the bra ke on the braked whee l
from overheating. EDL wi ll switch on again au-tomat
ica lly when conditions have ret urned to
no rma l.
Dynamic steering*
On vehicles wi th dynam ic steering*, ESC he lps
st abi liz e the steer ing in cr itical situ ations.
Electronic interaxle differential lock* /
selective wheel torque control*
T he elec troni c int eraxle differentia l lock (front
whee l dr ive) o r th e se lec tive whee l torque
control (all-whee l dr ive) oper ates when dr iv
ing t hro ugh curves. The front wheel on the in
side of the c urve or both whee ls on the inside
of the c urve are b raked se lectively as needed.
This m inimizes sliding in the front wheels and
allows for more precise driving through
curves . The applicable system may not acti
vate when dr iving in wet o r snowy cond itions.
A WARNING
- ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynam ic steering*
a nd the ele ct roni c interaxle d ifferential
lo ck* /se lective whee l torque con trol *
cannot ove rcome the laws of physics .
This is especially important on sli ppery
or wet roads.
If the systems beg in acting
to stabilize your veh icle, yo u should im
mediately change your speed to match
the road and traffic conditions . Do not
let the increased safety prov ided by
these systems tempt you to take r isks.
Doing so will increase the risk of a loss of
veh icle cont ro l, col lision and ser ious pe r
sonal injur ies.
- Always ada pt your speed to road, traffi c
a nd wea ther conditions. The r isk of los-
ing con trol of the vehicle i ncreases when
d riving too fast, es pec ia lly through
curves and o n slippe ry or wet roads, an d
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead. ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, ASR, EDL dynam ic steer ing* and the
e lectronic inte raxle differentia l lock*/se
lec tive whee l to rque control* cannot p re-
-
vent co llisi ons. ~
Page 183 of 286

-Always acce lerate with specia l care on
even, smooth surfaces s uch as t hose that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheels can s pin even with
the se assistance systems that cannot al
ways help to reduce the risk of loss of ve hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR on ly work correctly when
all four wheels are equ ipped w ith ident i-
Switching on /off
Intelligen t technolog y 181
cal tires. D iffe rent tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine power.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
described are working .
- I f the ind ica to r light
$1 or ml (USA
mode ls)/ [i] (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
¢ page 18,
¢ page 19.
ESC turns on automatically when you start the engine .
Fig. 16 7 Versio n A: lower ce nter console,~ OFF but
to n
The ESC is designed to function in levels. De
pending on the leve l that is selected, the sta
b ili zation function of the ESC is limited or
switched off . The amount of stab ilizat ion con
trol will diffe r depend ing on the level.
The follow ing s ituations are exceptions where
it may be useful to switc h on sport mode to
allow the whee ls to spin:
~ • _j ---------' -~ _.,.,
Fig. 168 Ve rsio n 8: uppe r ce nte r console,~ OFF bu t
to n
-Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is st uck
- Dr iving in deep snow o r on loose ground
- Dr iving with snow chains
Page 184 of 286

182 Intelligent technology
Sport mode on ESC/ASR off Sport mode off or
ESC/ASR on
Behav ior
The ESC and ASR stabiliza- The stabilization function The full stabilization func-
tion functions are limited is not ava ilable
c> .&. . ESC tion of the ESC and ASR is
¢ _&.. and ASR are sw itched off. available again.
Operation Press the l.i; OFF ! button P ress and hold the 1.i; OFFI Press the l.i; OFF ! button
briefly. button
longer than 3 sec-
again.
onds.
Indicator II turns on. II and Ill turn on. II turns off or II and II
lights tur n off.
Driver mes- Stabilization control Stabilization control Stabilization control
sages (ESC): Sport. Warning! (ESC): off. Warning! Re- (ESC): On
Restricted stability stricted stability
It is only possible to turn off the ASR up to 30
mph (SO km/h) for vehicles with front wheel
drive . At about
45 mph (70 km/h) it automat i
cally turns on aga in . It is poss ible to turn off
the ASR at any speed for veh icles with all
wheel dr ive.
.&, WARNING
Yo u should only switch sport mode on or
switch ESC/ASR off if your driving abilities
and road conditions permit.
- The stabilization function is limited
when sport mode is switched on. The
driving whee ls cou ld spin and the vehicle
cou ld swerve, especially on slick or slip
pery road surfaces.
- There is no vehicle stabilization when
ESC/ASR are switched off.
(D Tips
ESC/ASR cannot be switched off or sport
mode cannot be switched on when adap
tive cruise control* is switched on.
Braking
What affects braking efficiency?
New brake pads
During the first 250 miles (400 km), new
brake pads do not possess their fu ll braking
effect, they have to be "broken in" first
c> .&. .
You can compensate for this slightly reduced
braking power by push ing harder on the brake pedal. Avoid heavy brak
ing loads dur ing the
break -in period.
Operating conditions and driving habits
The brakes on today's automobiles are still
subject to wear, depending largely on operat
ing condit ions and driving hab its
c> .&. . On
vehicles that are either driven mostly in stop and-go city traff ic or are dr iven hard, the
brake pads should be checked by your author
ized Audi dea ler more often than specified in
the
Warranty & Maintenance booklet. Failure
to have you r brake pads inspected can result
in reduced brake performance.
On steep slopes, you should use the braking
effect of the engine . This way, you prevent un
necessary wear on the brake system.
If you
must use your brakes, do not hold the brakes
down continuous ly . Pump the brakes at inter
vals.
Operating noise
Noises may occur when braking depending on
the speed, b rak ing force and outside cond i
t ions such as temperature and humidity .
Effect of water and road salt
In certain situations, for example after driv in g
t hr ough water, in heavy rain, after overnight
condensation or after washing you r car, the
braking effec t can be reduced by mois ture or
ice on the brake rotors and brake pads. The
brakes must be dried first with a few careful
brake applications .