To provide maximum protection, sa fety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body.
... Adjus t the front seat and head restraint
properly
c::> page 61, General recommenda
tions .
... Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt
c::> ,&. .
... Hold the be lt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis
c::> ,&..
... Insert the tongue into the co rrect buckl e of
your seat until you hea r it latch securely
c::>fig. 160.
... Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se-
curely latched in the buckle.
Automatic safety belt retractors
Every safety belt is equipped w ith an automat
i c belt retractor on the shoulder be lt. T his fea
ture locks the belt when the belt is pulled out
fast, dur ing hard braking and in an accident.
The belt may also lock when you drive up or
down a steep hill or through a sharp curve. During normal driving the belt lets you move
freely.
Safety belt pretensioners
The safety belts are equipped with a belt pre
tensioner that helps to tighten the safety belt
and remove slack when the pretensioner is ac
tivated. The funct ion of the pretensioner is
monitored by a warning light
c::>page 16.
Sw itchable locking feature
E very sa fety belt except the one on the driver
seat is equipped with a switchable locking fea
ture that
must be used when the safety belt is
used to attach a child safety seat. Be sure to read the important information about this
feature
c::> page 188.
A WARNING
Imprope rly positioned safety belts can
cause serious injury in an accident
o::> page 153, Safety belt position.
-Safety belts offer optimum protection
only when the seatback is upright and
Safety belts 153
belts are properly positioned on the
body.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to which the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when
ever the rear center safety belt is being
used. If the backrest is not securely
latched, the passenger w ill move for
ward with the backrest during sudden
braking, in a sudden maneuver and espe
cially in a crash .
- Never attach th e safety belt to the buck
le for another seat . Atta ching the belt to
the wrong buckle will reduce s afety be lt
effectiveness and can cause ser ious per
sonal injury.
- A passenger who is not proper ly restrain
ed can be seriously injured by the safety
be lt itself when it moves from the stron
ger parts of the body into cr itical areas
like the abdomen.
- Always lock the convertible locking re
tractor when you are securing a child safety seat in the vehicle
c::>page 190.
Safety belt position
Correct belt position is the key to getting
maximum protection from safety belts.
Fig . 161 Safety belt position
Standa rd features on your veh icle help you ad
just the position of the safety belt to match you r body size.
- belt height adjustment for the front seats,
- height-adjustable front seats.
154 Safety belts
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent .
- The shoulder belt should lie as close to
the center of the collar bone as possible
and should fit well on the body. Hold the
belt above the latch tongue and pull it
evenly across the chest so that it sits as
low as possible on the pelvis and there is
no pressure on the abdomen. The belt
should always fit snugly¢
fig. 161. Pull
on the belt to tighten if necessary.
- The lap belt portion of the safety belt
must be positioned as low as possible
across pelvis and never over the abdo
men. Make sure the belt lies flat and
snug ¢
fig. 161. Pull on the belt to tight
en if necessary.
- A loose-fitting safety belt can cause seri
ous injuries by shifting its position on
your body from the strong bones to more
vulnerable, soft tissue and cause serious
inJury .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information
¢page 152.
Pregnant women must also be correctly
restrained
The best way to protect the fetus is to make
sure that expectant mothers always wear
saf ety belts correctly -throughout the pr eg
nancy.
Fig. 162 Safety be lt pos it io n during p regnancy
To provide maximum protection, safety belts
must always be positioned correctly on the
wearer's body
¢ page 153.
.. Adjust the front seat and head restraint cor
rectly ¢
page 61, General recommenda
tions.
.. Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in an upright position and securely
latched in place before using the belt.
.. Hold the belt by the tongue and pull it even
ly across the chest and pelvis ¢
fig. 162,
¢ ,&. .
.. Insert the tongue into the correct buckle of
your seat until you hear it latch securely
¢page 152, fig. 160 .
.. Pull on the belt to make sure that it is se
curely latched in the buckle.
A WARNING
Improperly positioned safety belts can
cause serious personal injury in an acci
dent.
-
- Expectant mothers must always wear the
lap portion of the safety belt as low as
possible across the pelvis and below the rounding of the abdomen .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS and
other important information ¢
& in Fas
tening safety belts on page 153.
Unfastening safety belts
Unbuckle the safety bel t wi th the red release
button only a~er the vehicle has stopped .
Fig. 163 Releas ing the ton gu e from the bu ckle
.. Push the red release button on the buckle
¢
fig. 163 . The belt tongue will spring out
of the buckle ¢
,&.. ..,..
Model Manufactured on or
after
Evenflo First Choice December 1, 1999
204
Graco Infant 8457 December 1, 1999
Graco Snugride September 25, 2007
Peg Perego Primo Vi -September 25, 200 7
aggio SIP IMUN00US
Subpart C - Forward -fa cing and
c on vert ible child restraint s
Model Manufactured on or
after
Britax Roundabout September 25, 2007
E9L02xx
Cosco Touriva 02519 December 1, 1999
Cosco Summit Deluxe September 25, 2007
H igh Back Booster
22-262
Cosco High Back September 25, 2007
Booster 22-209
Evenflo Tribute V September 25, 200 7
379xxxx
Evenflo Medallion December 1, 1999
254
Evenflo Generations September 25, 2007
352xxxx
Graco Comfo rtSport September 25, 2007
Graco Toddler Safety September 25, 2007
Seat Step 2
Graco Platinum Ca rgo September 25, 200 7
A WARNING
To reduce the risk of serious injury, make
sure that the
P ASSENGER AIR BAG O FF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child restraint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switched
on.
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat posi tions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on.
Child Sa fet y 181
-Have the airbag system inspected by
your author ized Audi dealer immediate
ly.
(D Tips
The child seats listed in categories A to C have been statically tested by A udi on ly for
the Advanced A irbag function.
Important safety instructions for using
child safety seats
Correct use of child safety seats substantially
reduces the risk of injury in an accident!
As the driver, you are responsib le for the safe
ty of everybody in the veh icle, especially chil
dren:
... Always use the right child safety seat for
each child and always use it properly
¢page 184.
... Always carefully follow the child safety seat
manufacturer's instruct ions on how to route
the safety belt properly through the child
safety seat .
... When using the vehicle safety belt to install
a child safety seat, you m ust first activate
the convertible locking retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving
¢page 188.
... Push the child safety seat down with yo ur
full weight to get the safety belt really tight
so that the seat cannot move forward or
sideways more than one inch (2 .5 cm) .
... If a strap or tether is be ing used to tie the
child safety seat to the front passenger
seat, make sure tha t it is not so tight that it
causes the weight-sens ing ma t to measure
more weight than is act ually on the seat.
... Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 183.
Always remember: Even tho ugh you r vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system, all
c h ildren, especially those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat proper-
ly restrained for the ir age and size. ..,. •
•
as possible before installing the child
restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing pre
vents the front passenger's seat from
be ing moved to the rearmost position
in its fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure that the backrest is
in the upr ight position.
- Always buck le the child safety seat firmly
in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose ch ild safety seat can fly around
dur ing a sudden stop or in a col lision .
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
c::> page 149, Safety
belts,
c::> page 157, Airbag system and
c::> page 178, Child Safety.
A WARNING
T o reduce t he ris k of serious injury, make
sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light comes on and stays on whenever a
child rest raint is installed on the front pas
senger seat and the ignition is switc hed
on.
- Take the child restraint off t he fro nt 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.
- Have the airbag system inspected by
your authorized Aud i dealer immediate
ly.
Secure unused safety belts on the rear
seat
F ig. 173 Schematic overv iew: keep un used safety belts
away from children in child safety seats.@-oute r rear
safety belt,
@ -center rear safety belt
Child S afety 183
If a child safety seat is used on the rea r bench,
especially with LATCH universal lower ancho
rages, the unused safety belts
must be se
cured so that the child in the child restraint
cannot reach them
c::> &.
-Guide the safety belt webbings @and @
beh ind the head restraint of the seat where
the child restra int is insta lled
c::> fig. 173.
When doing so, do not engage the switcha
ble locking retractor! You should not hear a
"cl icking" sound when w inding up the safety
be lt .
- Let the belt retractor wind up the safety belt
webbing.
A WARNING
A child in a chi ld safety seat i nstalled with
the LA TCH lower ancho rages or with the
standard s afety be lt or a child in a boos ter
seat on the rea r seat co uld p lay with un
use d rea r seat safety belts and become en
tang led . This could cause t he chi ld ser ious
personal injury and even death.
- Always secure unused rear seat safety
be lts out of reach of children in child
seats such as by proper ly rout ing them
around the head restrai nt of the seat
where the ch ild restraint is installed.
- Never activate t he switchable l ock ing re
tracto r when routing the safety be lts
around the head restraints.
- Never let anyone s it at the center rear
seating position if the center rea r safety
be lt has been routed around a rear head
restraint.
184 Child Safet y
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 . 174 Sche matic overview: rearward- facing 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 retractor on the
safety belt to prevent the child safety seat
from moving ¢
page 188 or install the seat
using the LATCH 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 183.
Infants up to about one year (20 lbs. or 9 kg)
are best protected in special infant 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. 174.
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
fro nt seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to r ide . The front seat is not the safest
p lace for a child in a forwa rd-facing child seat.
I t is a very dangerous p lace for an infant or a
larger child in a rearward-facing seat.
A WARNING
-Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child safety seat o r improperly in
stalling a ch ild restra int increases the risk
of ser ious personal in ju ry and death in a
crash.
- Never install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs o n the front pas
senger sea t -even with an Advanced Air
bag Sys tem. A c hild will be ser iously in
jured and can be killed whe n the inflat
ing ai rbag 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 158, Child restraints on the
front seat -some important things to
know.
- Always install rear-facing ch ild safety
seats or infant ca rr ie rs on the rear seat .
- Never install a rear-fac ing ch ild restra int
in th e forward-fac ing direct ion. Such re
straints are designed for the special needs of infants and very small ch ild ren
an d cannot protect them prope rly if the
seat is forward- facing.
- If you m ust insta ll a rearwa rd fa cing
child safety seat on the fro nt passenger
seat be cause of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF
light does not come o n 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever us ing a child restrained in ave
h icle is being used
¢ page 149, Safety
belts, ~page 157, Airbag system
and
c::> page 178, Importan t things to know.
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 . 175 Sche mati c overvi ew : ins tallat ion o f the at
tachments appl icable to a LA TCH seat
F ig. 176 Schem atic overview: installat ion of t he seat
u sing the ve hicle' s safety b elt sy stem
.. 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 188 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 188.
.,. If the child safety seat is equ ipped with a
tet her strap, attach it to the tether anchors
c:;, page 194 .
.. Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
c:;, page 183.
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) .
Child Safety 185
Toddlers 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 cert ified for their si ze and weight
c:;, fig . 175 and c:;, fig. 176 .
The airbag on the passenger side makes the
front seat a potentially dangerous place for a
child to ride . The front sea t is not the sa fest
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 large r ch ild in a rearward-facing seat .
.&_ WARNING
Not using a child safety seat, using the
wrong child s afety 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 situation .
- Ch ildren on the front seat o f any car,
even with Advanced Airbags, can be se ri
ously injured or
even killed when an air
bag inflates. A chi ld 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 h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force a nd will smash the child safety seat
and child against the ba ckrest, center
a rmrest, doo r or roof.
- Always install rear-fac ing ch ild safety
seats o n the rear seat .
- If you must install a rearwa rd fac ing
child safety 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 chi ld
safety seat in a rear seating position and have the airbag system inspected by your
Aud i dea ler .
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be pos itioned as close as poss ib le
~
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢page 183.
Children up to at least 8 years old (over 40
lbs. or 18 kg) are best protected in child safe
ty 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. (57 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 belts. 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
Child Safety 187
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 .
_&. 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 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 149.
- The rear side of the child safety seat
should be positioned as close as possible
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head re straint if it is difficult to install the child
seat with the head restraint in place
¢ page 65. Install the head restraint
again immediately once the child seat is
removed . Driving without head restraints
or with head restraints that are not prop
erly adjusted increases the risk of serious
-
or fatal neck injury dramatically. ~
•
•
188 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even w ith Advanced A irbags, can be seri
ous ly injured or even killed when an a ir
bag inflates .
- Never let a child stand or knee l on any
seat, for examp le the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a ch ild lean ing
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
st ruck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sult in serious personal injury o r dea th .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
t io nal circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the igni tion is sw itch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF ligh t
doe s not come on and stay on, perform
the chec ks described
¢ page 168, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child rest rain t off th e fron t pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rea r 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 WAR NIN GS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 149 , Safety
belts,¢ page 157, Airbag system
and
¢ page 178, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety bel ts for the rear sea ts and the front
passenger can be locked with the conver tible
locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenge r's seat safety belt have a co n
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
web bing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the sa fety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
duri ng norma l dr iving . A chi ld safety seat can
o n ly be prope rly insta lled when t he safety belt
i s loc ked so that the ch ild and child safety
sea t w ill stay in place .
Always remember: Even tho ugh your vehicle is
equipped with an Advanced Airbag system , all
c h ildren, especially thos e 12 years and young
er, sho uld alw ays r ide in the back seat prope r
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Im prop erly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in
crease the risk o f serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the sa fe ty bel t re
trac to r i s loc ked w hen insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locke d safety belt re
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing no rma l driving o r in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child sa fety seat firmly
in place even if a ch ild is not sitt ing in it .
A loose child safety seat can fly around du ring a s udden stop or in a collision .
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ic h the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when
eve r the rea r center saf ety belt is being
used to secure a c hild restr aint.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child res traint will be
throw n forward togethe r with t he back
rest and will strike part s of t he vehi cle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed.
- Never insta ll re ar-f acing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas
sen ger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen ge r airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the c hild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat ..,.