
180 Child Saf ety
seat. The weight of a child restraint and its
"footprint" vary for different kinds of chi ld re
straints and for the d ifferent models of the
same kind of child restraint offered by child
restra int manufacturers .
The weight ranges for the individual types, makes and mode ls of ch ild restra ints that the
NHTSA has specified in the Safety Standard
together with the we ight ranges of typical in
fants and typical 1 year-old child have been
stored in the control unit of the Advanced A ir
bag System. When a ch ild restrai nt is being
used on the front passenger seat with a typi
cal 1 yea r-old ch ild, the Advanced Airbag Sys
tem compares the we ight measured by the
weight sensing mat with the in formation stor
ed in the electronic contro l unit.
The ele ctron ic cont rol unit also registers the
tension on the front passenge r safety belt.
The tension on the safety be lt fo r the front
passenger seat will be different for an ad ult
who is properly using the safety belt as com
pared to the tension on the be lt when it is
used to attach a child restraint to the seat.
The sensor below the latch for the safety belt
for the front seat passenger measu res the
tension on the be lt . T he input from this sen
sor is then used with the we ight to "dec ide",
whe ther there is a ch ild restraint w ith a typ ica l
1 year-o ld child on the front passenger seat
and whether or not the airbag must be turned
off .
Child restraints and Advanced Airbags
Regardless of the child restraint that you use,
make sure that it has been certified to meet
United States Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standards a nd has been certified by its manu
facture r fo r u se w ith an airbag . Always be s ure
that t he ch ild res traint is p rope rly insta lled at
one o f th e rear seat ing pos itions . If in excep
tional c ircu mstances you must use it on the
front passenger seat, caref ully read all of the
info rmation on c hild safety and Advanced Air
bags and heed a ll of the applicable WARN
INGS. Make certain that the child restraint is
correctly recognized by the weig ht-sensing mat
inside the front passenger seat, that the
front passenger airbag is turned off and that
the a irbag stat us is a lways cor rect ly signa led
by the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light.
Many types and models of child res traints
have been available over the years, new mod
els are introduced regu larly incorporating new
and improved des igns and o lder models are
taken out of product ion. Ch ild restraints are
not standard ized . Child restraints of the same
type typically have d ifferent weights and sizes
and diff erent 'footpr ints,' the s ize and shape
of the bo ttom of the ch ild restra int that sits
o n t he seat, when they a re inst alled on a vehi
cle sea t. Th ese d ifferences make i t vir tually
impossible to certify compliance with the re
quirements for advanced airbags with eac h
and every ch ild restra int that has ever been
sold in the past or will be sold over the course of the useful life of your veh icle.
For t his reason, the United States National
Highway Traffic Safety Adm inistrat ion has
published a list of spec ific type, makes and
models of child restraints that mus t be used
to certify comp liance of the Advanced Airbag
System i n your veh icle w ith the suppression
requirements of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standa rd 208. These chi ld restraints are :
Subpart A - Car bed child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
A ngel Guard A ngel September 25, 200 7
R ide AA 2403FOF
Subpart B - Rear-facing child restraints
Model Manufactured on or
after
Ce ntury Smart Fit Decembe r 1, 1999
4543
Cosco Arriva September 25, 2007
22-013PAW and base 22-999WHO
E venflo Discovery Ad -December 1, 1999
just Right 212

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. ..,. •
•

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. ~
•
•

and child against the backrest, center
armrest, door or roof.
- Always install rear-facing child safety
seats or infant carriers on the rear seat.
- 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¢
page 178. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 158, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
A 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 ¢
page 168, 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.
Child Safety 189
- 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 regis
tered by the weight-sensing mat and can
cause injury in a crash.
A 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. .,.
•
•

190 Child Safety
-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 de
ploy 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
seat cannot move forward or sideways more
than one inch
(2.5 cm).
_&. WARNING
-
Using the wrong child restraint or an im
properly installed child restraint can cause
serious personal injury or death in a crash.
- Always make sure that the safety belt re-
tractor is locked when installing a child
safety seat. An unlocked safety belt re
tractor cannot hold the child safety seat
in place during normal driving or in a
crash.
- Always buckle the child safety seat firmly in place even if a child is not sitting in it.
A loose child safety seat can fly around
during a sudden stop or in a crash.
- Always make sure the seat backrest to
which the child restraint is installed is in
an upright position and securely latched
into place and cannot fold forward . Oth
erwise, the seatback with the child safety
seat attached to it could fly forward in
the event of an accident or other emer
gency situation.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
~page 178. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 158, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .

194 Child Safe ty
Tether anchors and tether straps
Fig. 182 Tethe r ancho rs: attachment hook locatio ns
behind the rea r sea tbacks
The tether anchors for the rear seating posi
tions are located on the backside of the rea r
seatbacks
~ fig. 182.
A tether is a straight or V-shaped strap that
attaches the top part of a child restraint to
specia l anchorage points in the veh icle.
The purpose of the tether is to reduce the for·
ward movement of the ch ild restra int in a
crash, in order to help reduce the r isk of head
in ju ry that could be ca used by striking the ve
hicle interior.
Forward 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 requ irements make a
tether necessary on most new chi ld safety
seats.
A WARNING
Improper insta llation of chi ld restraints
w ill increase the risk of injury and death in
a crash.
- Always follow the instructions prov ided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
stra int you intend to install in your Audi.
- Improper use of c hild restra int anchors
(including tether anchors) can lead to in ·
jury in a co llision. Th e anchors are de·
sign ed to withstand only those loads im
posed by cor rect ly fi tted ch ild restraints.
- Never mou nt two chi ld restraint systems
on one LA TCH lower anchor po int. -
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 attac h 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 chi ld 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 we ight than is ac
tually on the seat.
- The heavier weight registered can make the Advanced Airbag System work as
though an adult were o n the seat and de·
p loy the Advanced Airbag when it mus t
be supp ressed causi ng serio us or even
fatal injury to the ch ild .
- If you must ins tall a rearw ard fa cing
c h ild safe ty seat on the fro nt passenger
seat because of exceptiona l circumstan
ces and the
PASSENGER 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.