2014 AUDI A8 Owners Manual

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 . 176 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 187 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 182.
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. 176.
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 183
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 155, 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 145 , Safety
belts, ¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, Important things to know.

184 Child Safet y
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 . 177 Schematic overv iew: installat ion of the at­
t a chments appl icable to a LATCH seat
Fig. 178 Schematic overview: in stalla tion of t he sea t
using the vehicle's safety be lt 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 187 or insta ll 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 187.
.. If the child safety seat is eq uipped w ith a
tether strap, attach it to the tether anchors
¢page 194.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::> page 182.
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
c::> fig. 177 and c::> fig . 178 .
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 a n in­
fant or a larger ch ild in a rearward-facing seat.
_&. WARNING
No t using a child safety seat, us ing t he
wrong child safety seat o r imprope rly in­
stalling a chi ld restraint increases the risk
of serious personal injury and death in a
collision or other emergency situat ion .
- Chi ld ren on the front seat of any ca r,
-
even with Advanced Airbags, can be seri­
ously injured or even killed when an air­
bag inflates . A ch ild 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 lates -even with an Advanced Airbag
System .
- The inflating airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child aga inst the back rest, center
a rm rest, door or roo f.
- Always ins tall rear-fa cing ch ild safety
seats on the rear seat .
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd fa cing
child safe ty seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan­
ces and the
PA SSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come on and stay on, im­
mediately insta ll the rear-fac ing child
safety seat in a rear seating position and
have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i deale r.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as possib le ..,.

to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is
difficult to install the child seat with the
head restraint in place
c::> page 139. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
c::> page 145, Safety
belts,
c::> page 153, Airbag system and
c::> page 177, Important things to know.
_& 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
struct ions 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.
-A lways 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
c::> page 164, 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
PASS EN-
Child Safety 185
GER AIR BAG OFF light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats con help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who ore less than 4
ft. 9 in. (57 inches/1.45 meters) toll.
l!! N 0 ± i,l;
Fig. 179 Rear seat: c hild properly restrained in a boos ­
ter seat
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 must 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 .
.. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust­ ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c::>poge 182. ...

186 Child Safety
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40 lbs
or 18 kg) are best protected in child safety
seats designed for their age and weight. Ex­ perts say that the skeletal structure, particu­
larly the pelvis, of these children is not fully
developed, and they must not use the vehicle
safety belts without a suitable child restraint .
It is usually best to put these children in ap­ propriate booster seats. Be sure the booster
seat meets all applicable 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 child's protection, whether
or not a booster seat is used . Children age 12
and under must always ride in the rear seat.
Children who are at least 4
ft . 9 in. (5 7 in­
ches/1.45 meters) tall can generally use the
vehicle's three point lap and shoulder belts.
Never use the lap belt portion of the vehicle's
safety belt alone to restrain any child, regard­
less of how big the child is. Always remember
that children do not have the pronounced pel­
vic structure required for the proper function of lap belt portion of the vehicle's three point
lap and shoulder bel ts. The child's safety ab­
solutely requires that a lap belt portion of the
safety belt be fastened snugly and as low as possible around the pelvis. Never let the lap
belt portion of the safety belt pass over the
child's stomach or abdomen.
In a crash, airbags must inflate within a blink
of an eye and with considerable 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
inflating airbag. When an occupant is too
close, he or she will be struck violently and
will receive serious or possibly even fatal in­
jury. In order for the airbag to offer protection, it
is
important that all vehicle occupants, especial­
ly any children, who must be in the front seat
because of exceptional circumstances, be
properly 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 provide supplemental protection
in certain frontal collisions.
A WARNING
Not using a booster seat, using the boos­
ter seat improperly, incorrectly installing a booster seat or using the vehicle safety
belt improperly increases the risk of seri­
ous personal injury and death in a collision
or other emergency situation. To help re­
duce the risk of serious personal injury
and/or death:
- The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possi­
ble and must lie flat and snug on the up­
per 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 that the
belt lies flat and snug. Pull on the belt to
tighten if necessary.
- Failure to properly route safety belts
over a child's body will cause severe inju­
ries in an accident or other emergency
situation
¢ page 145.
-The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad­
just the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the child seat with the
head restraint in place ¢
page 139. Driv­
ing with head restraints that are not
properly adjusted increases the risk of
serious or fatal neck injury dramatically.
- 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.
- Never let a child stand or kneel on any
seat, for example the front seat.

-Never let a child ride in the cargo area of
your vehicle.
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitting sideways or out of posi­
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag. This will re­
sult in serious personal injury or death.
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep­
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is switch­
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the che cks described
¢ page 164, Moni­
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- Ta ke the child rest rain t off the fron t pas­
senger seat and ins tall it proper ly a t one
of the rear seat posi tions 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 restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢page 145, Safety
belts,¢ page 153, Airbag system
and
¢ page 177, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats.
The safety belts emergency lock ing retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
fro nt passenger's seat safety belt have a con­
vertible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints .
The safety belt must be locked so that belt
webbi ng cannot unreel. The retracto r can be
activ ated to lock t he safety be lt and p revent
t he safe ty belt webbing from loosening up
d uring normal driving . A child sa fety seat can
only be properly installed when the safety belt
Child Sa fet y 187
is loc ked so that the chi ld and child sa fety
seat wi ll stay in place.
A lw ays remember: Even tho ugh yo ur vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c hi ldren, especially those 12 years and young ­
er, sho uld always ride in the back seat prope r­
l y restrained for the ir age and size.
A WARNING
Imp roperly installed chi ld safety seats in­
crease the risk of serious personal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re­
tracto r is locked when insta lling a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
trac to r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l dr iving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child saf ety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild i s not si tt ing in it.
A lo ose child safe ty seat can fly aroun d
du ring a sudden stop or in a collision .
- Always ma ke sure tha t the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
belt is attached is securely latched when ­
eve r the rear center safety belt is being
used to secure a ch ild restra int .
- I f the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward togethe r with the bac k­
rest and will strike parts of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in­
jured or killed .
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rrie rs on the front pas­
senger seat. A child will be serious ly in­
jured and can be killed when the passen­
ge r airbag inflates.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrie r with gr eat
for ce an d
will smas h the child safety se a t
a nd child ag ainst the ba ckr est, cen ter
armrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
se ats or in fa nt c arrie rs on the rear se at. •
•

188 Child Safety
-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 177 . Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
c::;, page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
.&_ 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
c:.> page 164, 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 reg is- tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
.&_ 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 de­ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must
be suppressed causing serious or even
fatal injury to the child .
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, immedi­
ately install the rear-facing child safety
seat in a rear seating position and have
the airbag system inspected by your Audi dealer.
Activating the convertible locking retractor
Use the convertible locking retractor to se­
cure a child restraint.
Always heed the child safety seat manufactur­
er's instructions when installing a child re­
straint in your vehicle. To activate the conver­
tible locking retractor:
.,. Place the child restraint on a seat, prefera­
bly on the rear seat.
.,. Slowly pull the belt all the way out.
.,. Route it around or through the child re­
straint belt path¢&_ .
.,. Push the child safety seat down with your
full weight to get the safety belt really tight.
.,. Insert the belt tongue into the buckle for
that seating position.
.,. Guide the safety belt back into the retractor
until the belt lies flat and snug on the child
safety seat.
.,. You should hear a "clicking" noise as the
belt winds back into the inertia reel. Test the
convertible locking retractor by pulling on
the belt. You should no longer be able to
pull the belt out of the retractor. The con­
vertible locking retractor is now activated.
.,. Make sure that the red release button is fac ­
ing away from the child restraint so that it
can be unbuckled quickly .
.,. Pull on the belt to make sure the safety belt
is properly tight and fastened so that the
Child Safety 189
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch (2.5 cm).
A WARNING
Using the wrong child restraint or an im­
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
-Always make sure that the safety belt re- tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re­
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward. Oth­
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer­
gency situation .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS whenever using a child restrained in ave­
hicle is being used
q page 177. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
q page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat- some important things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
-
The convertible locking retractor for child re­
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into
the retractor.
.,. Press the red button on the safety belt 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 belt retract completely
into its stowed position. The safety belt can ..,.
•
•

190 Child Saf ety
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with ­
out the convertible locking retractor for chi ld
restra ints .
I f the convert ible locking re tracto r 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 convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be­
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear .
A WARNING
Improperly installed child safety seats in­
crease the risk of ser ious personal injury
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti­
vate the convert ible lock ing ret ractor for
c hild restraints while the veh icle is mov­
ing. You would not be restrained and
cou ld be ser iously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARNI NGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave­
hicle is being used
¢ page 177. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 155, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To provide a simp ler and more practicable way
to attach the ch ild restraint on the veh icle
seat, Federa l regu lations require specia l lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices 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
LA TCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for C hildren."
F orward- facing child rest raints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S. federa
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 restra int that requires a top
tethe r without one can seriously impair the
performance of the chi ld 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 child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
r est raint firmly in place.
A WARNING ,__
Imp roper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the r is k of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instr uctions provided
by the manufacture r of the child re­
s t raint you intend to install in your ve hi­
cle.
- Never install a chi ld restraint withou t a
p roperly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacture r's instruc ­
tions require the top tether st rap to be
used.
- Improper use of child rest raint LATCH
lowe r anchorage points can lead to injury
in a co llision. The LATCH lowe r anchorage
points are designed to withstand on ly
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child res traints.
- 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 . ~