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. ...
-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. •
•
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 . ~
@ Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lower universa l anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISO FIX" is used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig . 180 Sch ematic overv ie w: LA T CH an cho rag e point
l ocation s
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your veh icle which are equipped w ith the low
e r ancho rages system .
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating .
Fig. 181 Re ar sea tbacks: lo ca tor b utto ns fo r low er a n·
cho rages
Child S afety 191
Fig. 1 82 Rea r seats: lowe r ancho rage bra cket locat ions
Attachm ent l ocato r markers for lowe r
anchorages
Circular locator buttons on the rear seatback
indicate the lowe r anchorage locations o n the
rear seating posi tions
c::> fig. 181 .
Lo wer anchorages
The lower anc horage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
c::> fig . 182.
Lower anchorages secure the child restrain t in
the seat without us ing the vehicle 's safety
belts . Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibi li
ty of improper ch ild restra int installat ion.
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage poin ts
are o nly intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically cer tified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages . Chi ld
r est rain ts that are not equ ipped with the low
er anchorage attachme nts can still be i nsta l
led in compliance with the child rest raint
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts .
_& WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious persona l injury in an ac
cident.
- Always carefully follow the child re
straints manufacture r's instructions for
proper insta llation of the child restraint
192 Child Safe ty
and prope r 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
format ion about child restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 177,
Child Safety .
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and are availa
ble from your au thori zed Audi dealer .
Fig . 183 Ou ter rea r seat s: in sta lling th e guid ance fix·
tu res
Fi g. 184 Clos e-up : fitting t he guidanc e fixt ure over th e
l ower anch orage b racke t
The lower anchorage attachment points a re
located on the rear seats between the seat
back and the seat cushion . Special guidance
fixtures increase the conven ience of the lower
ancho rages and help protect the seat mater ial
from possib le damage when insta lling child
restraints .
Installing the guidance fixtures
"" Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower anchorages are visible. ""Ho
ld the guida nce fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
d irection of the arrow onto the ancho rage
¢ fig. 184 .
""Make sure that each of the two guidance fix
tures per seat snaps into place .
Remo ving the gu idanc e fixtu res
""R emove the chi ld restra int according the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions.
""Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower anchorages are v is ible.
"" Pull off the gu idance fixtures from the lower
anchorages .
"" Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe p lace when not in use.
You may find it easier to i nstall ch ild re
stra ints equ ipped with hooks attached to
straps witho ut the g uidance fixtu res in place .
If this is the case, remove the gu idance fix
tu res by pulling them off the anchorages.
However, the gu idance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages.
_& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause ser ious personal
i njury in a crash.
- Always carefu lly follow the child re
straint manufacturer's instr uctions for
proper insta llation and use of child re
straint systems.
- Never use the
LATCH or tether anchorag
es to attac h safety belts or other kinds of
occupant restra ints.
- Ch ild restra int tether attachments and
lower attachments are only designed to
secure a c hild restra int that has been
equ ipped to use these ancho rages .
- Tether anchorages and lower anc horages
are des igned to withstand only those
loads imposed by co rrec tly fitted child
restra ints . Un der no cir cumstan ces ca n
they be used safely fo r adult or child
safety belts or harnesses .
-Never mount more than one child re
straint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attaching two child re
straints to a single anchorage point can cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious persona l injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance fixtures before
fo lding the rear seatback to prevent
damag ing the seat cushion .
- To attach the child restraint secure ly, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear pos ition, the seat height set to the low
est posit ion and the head restraint must
be adjusted to the vertical position
¢page 61.
-If you leave the guidance fixtu res instal
l ed for seve ral days, they could leave a
mark on the upholstery on the seat cush
i on and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled . The up
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guidance fixtures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
Fig . 18 5 Lower anchorages: proper mounting
Mounting
.,. Make su re the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upright position and sec urely
latched in place.
Child S afety 193
.,. Attach both hook -on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place¢
fig. 185.
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to make
sure they are proper ly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child restraint
manufac ture r's instruct ions .
Releasing
.,. Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restra int manufacturer's inst ruc
tions.
.,. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower ancho rag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c hi ld restra int firmly in place.
.&, WARNING
I mproper use of the LATCH system can i n
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a n accide nt.
- These an chors were deve loped on ly for
child safety seats using the " LA T CH" sys
tem .
- Never at tach o ther ch ild safety sea ts,
be lts or o ther objects to these anchors.
- Always ma ke s ure that you hear a click
when latch ing the sea t in place . If you do
not hear a click the seat is not sec ure and
could fly forward and hit the interior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the vehi
cle.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restra ints
will increase the risk of injury in an acci
dent.
- Always follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instruct ions for proper
installation of the ch ild restra int system
and p roper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your veh icle.
~
194 Child Safety
-Always read and heed the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the installation of child re
straint systems ~
page 177, Child Safe
ty.
d) Note
On vehicles with power adjustable rear
seats* some criteria must be observed
when attaching the child restraint using
the
LATCH system:
- To attach the child restraint securely, the
seat must be moved to the farthest rear
position, the seat height set to the low
est position and the head restraint must be adjusted to the vertical position
~ page 61.
-If a child safety seat is attached to one of
the rear seats, this seat must not be ad
justed using the power controls under
any circumstances . The
Entry assistance
for this seat must a lso be deactivated in
the MMI
r¢ page 64. The child safety seat
as well as the rear seat can be damaged by the adjustment process.
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 186 Tet her ancho rs: r ece ss fla ps b ehin d th e re ar
sea tback s
The tether anchors for the two* /three rear
seating positions are located in recesses in the
rear window shelf~
fig. 186. Vehicles with
two rear seating positions* are equipped with two tether anchors .
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that attaches the top part of a child restraint to
special anchorage points in the vehicle. The
purpose of the tether is to reduce the for
ward movement of the child restraint in a crash, in order to help reduce the risk of head
injury that could be caused by st riking the ve
hicle in ter ior.
Forwa rd facing child restra ints 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 safety
seats .
_&. WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of child restraint anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in
jury in a collision. The anchors are de
signed to withstand only those loads im
posed by correctly fitted child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchor point.
- 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 child restraint tether ancho
rages to secure safety belts or other
kinds of occupant restraints.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other items to the LATCH lower ancho
rages or to the tether anchors.
- If a tether or other strap is used to at
tach a child restraint to the front passen
ger seat, make sure that it is not so
tight, that it causes the weight-sensing mat to measure more weight than is ac
tually on the seat .
- The heavier weight registered can make
the Advanced Airbag System work as though an adult were on the seat and de -
-
ploy the Advanced Airbag when it must ~