~ 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 ..,.
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. .,.
•
•
Installing the upper tether strap on the
anchorage
Fig. 183 Tether strap: proper routing and mounting
Fig. 184 Tether strap: proper rout ing and mounting
In sta ll in g th e tether strap
• Release or deploy the tether strap on the
child restraint according to the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions .
• Gu ide the upper tether strap
under the rear
head restraint and into the rear cargo area
Q fig. 184 (raise the head rest raint if neces
sary) .
• Slide the tether strap hook over the anchor
bracket.
• Pull on the tether strap hook so that the
spring catch of the hook engages.
• Tighten the tether strap firmly following the
child restra int manufacturer's instruct ions .
Attaching to th e center se ating po sit ion
• Slide the rear seat forward Q page 64.
• Pull the anchor bracket forward and connect
the tether strap hook.
• Tighten the tether strap and move the seat
backward .
Releasing th e te th er stra p
• Loosen the tension following the child re
straint manufacturer's instructions.
Child S afety 195
• Depress the spring catch on the hook and re
lease it from the anchorage .
(D Note
If you leave the child restra int w ith the
tether strap firmly installed fo r several
days, this could leave a mark on the up
holstery on the seat cushion and backrest
i n the area where the tether strap was in
stalled. The upholstery would also be per
manently stretched around the tether
strap . This applies especia lly to leather
seats.
Using tether straps on rearward-facing
child restraints
Cu rrently, few rear-facing child restraint sys
tems come with a tether. Please read and
heed the child restraint system manufactur
er's instructions carefully to determine how to
properly install the tether.
&, WARNING
A child in a rearward-fac ing ch ild safety
seat installed on the front passenger seat
will be ser ious ly injured and ca n be killed if
the front airbag inflates -even with an Ad
vanced Airbag System.
- The infla ting airbag will h it the ch ild
safety sea t or i nfan t carrie r with great
force and will smash the child safety seat and child against the backrest, center
armrest, o r door .
- A t ight tether or other strap on a rear
ward-facing child rest raint attached to
the front passenger seat can p ut too
muc h pressure on the weight-mat in the
seat and register a heavier weight in the
Advanced A irbag System . The heavier
weight registered can make the system
wo rk as tho ugh an adult we re on th e seat
a nd deploy the Advanced Airbag when it
m ust be s uppressed causing ser ious or
even fatal injury to the ch ild .
- If you must insta ll a rearwa rd fa cing
child safety seat on t he front passenger
seat because of exceptional
198 Intelligent technology
Dynamic ste ering *
On vehicles with dynamic stee ring* , ES C helps
stabilize the st eering in critical s ituations .
Selective wh eel torque c ontrol
The selective whee l torque control operates
when dr iv ing through curves . T he front wheel
on the inside of the curve or both wheels on
the inside of the curv e are braked selective ly
as needed. This m inimizes sliding in the front
wheels and allows for more pr ecise driving
through curves . T he system may not act ivate
when driving in wet or snowy cond itions .
A WARNING
-ESC, ABS, ASR, EDL dynamic steering"
and the se lective wheel torque control
cannot overcome the laws of physics .
Th is is especially important on slippery
or wet roads.
If the systems begin act ing
to stabilize yo ur vehicle , you sho uld im
med iately change your speed to ma tch
the road and traffic condit ions. Do not
let the increased safety provided by
these systems tempt you to take risks. Do ing so wi ll increase the risk of a loss of
vehicle control, collision and serious per
sonal injuries .
- Always adapt your speed to road, traff ic
and weather condit ions. The risk of Los-
ing cont ro l of the veh icle increases when
Switching on/off
-
driving too fast, espec ially through
curves and on slippery or wet roads, and
when dr iv ing too close to vehicles up
ahead . ESC, ABS, the brake ass ist sys
tem, ASR, ED L, dynam ic steering* and
the selective whe el torque cont ro l can
not p revent collisions.
- Always accelerate with special care on
even, smooth surfaces such as those that
are wet or covered with ice and snow.
The drive wheel s can spin eve n w ith
these assistance sys tems t hat can not al
ways he lp to red uce the risk of loss of ve
hicle control.
(0 Tips
- ABS and ASR only work correctly when
all four whee ls are equipped wi th identi
cal tires . Different tire sizes can lead to a
reduction in engine powe r.
- Yo u may hear noises when the systems
described are working .
-If the ind icator light&] or llB (USA
mode ls)/ [iJ (Canada models) appears,
there may be a malfunction
c:::, page 15,
c:::, page 17.
-When installing a factory-supplied roof
rack system on the roof railing, the ESC
w ill adapt itse lf to a different center of
gravity.
ESC turn s on automa tically when you star t the engine .
Fig . 18 5 Ve rs io n A: L ower ce nte r conso le , fJ. O FF b ut·
to n Fig. 186 Ve rs io n B: Uppe r ce nte r co nso le, fJ. OF F bu t
t on
The following situations are exceptions where it may be useful to switch on offroad mode to
allow the whee ls to spin :
- Rocking the vehicle to free it when it is stuck
- Driv ing in deep snow or on loose ground
- Driving with snow cha ins
Offroad mode on
Intelligen t technolog y 199
- Driving downh ill wh ile braking on loose
ground
- Dr iving on roug h ter rain when much of the
car's weight is lifted
off the whee ls (axle ar
tic ulation)
Offroad mode off
Beha vior
The ESC and ASR stabilization funct ions The full stab ilizat ion function of the ESC
are limited ~,&. .
Operation Press the I~ OF FI button.
Ind icat or II tu rns on.
li g ht s
Dri ver me s- Stabilizat ion cont rol (ESC ): Offroad.
s age s War
nin g ! Rest ricted stab ility
A WARNING
You should only sw itch offroad mode on if
your dr iving abili ties and road cond itions
pe rmit .
- T he stabilization function is limited
when offroad mode is swi tched on. The
dr iv ing whee ls co uld spin and the vehicle
cou ld swe rve, especially on slick or slip
pery road surfaces.
- Yo u should o nly switch offroad mode o n
when driving offroad.
@ Tips
Offroad mode cannot be swit ched o n when
a dapt ive cr uise control* is sw itched o n.
Hill descent assist
The hill descent assist makes it possible to
drive down an incline at a constant speed.
F ig . 187 Top o f the ce nter conso le : hi ll d es cent ass ist
b utto n
and ASR is available again .
Press the
I ~ OFF I button again .
MJ tu rns off .
Stabil ization control (ESC ): On
Fi g. 18 8 Disp lay: hil l de sce nt ass is t
"' Press the~ button in the cen ter conso le
~ fig. 187 or on the sh ift ga te. Th e but ton
wi ll ill uminate.
"' Press the b utton again to sw itch it
off . The
diode in the button wi ll go out .
Hill descent assist brakes all four whee ls auto
matically in order to limit speed when driving
either forwa rd or reverse on hill s with a grade
up to approximate ly 50% .
When the hill descent assist is on, the current
driv ing speed, when your vehicle entered the
incline is maintained. It is on ly possible to
switch on the assist when driving slower than
37 mph (60 km/h). The assist works between
approximately 2 and 19 mp h (4 and 30 km/
h) . The driver can inc rease or decrease the ve
hicle speed within these limits by depress ing
the accelerator or brake pedal In addition, ve hicle steerab ility is increased due to the brak-
i ng distribution when driving i n reve rse . ..,.
204 Intelligent technology
If starting capability is jeopa rdized due to en
ergy consumption, the following warning ap
pears in the radio or MMI* display:
Please start engine, otherwise system will
switch off in 3 minutes.
The warning ind icates that the system will be
turned off automatically after 3 minutes. If
you wish to continue using the functions, you
have to start the engine .
With the engine running
Although electrical energy is generated when
the vehicle is be ing driven, the battery can be
come discharged . Thi s happens mostly when
little ene rgy is being generated and a great
deal consumed and the battery's state o f
charge is not optima l.
To bring the energy balance back into equili
brium, consumers which require especially
l arge amounts of energy are temporarily cut
back or switched off. Heating systems in par
ticular require a great dea l of energy. If you
notice, for example, that the heated seats* or
the heated rear window are not heating, they
have been temporar ily cut back or switched
off. These systems will be ava ilable again as
soon as the energy balance has been restored.
You will also notice that engine idle speed has been increased slightly. This is normal and not
a cause for concern . By increas ing engine idle
speed the add it iona l energy required is gener
ated and the battery is charged.
A WARNING ,~
- Do not park your vehicle over flammable
materials such as grass or leaves because
the high temperature of the diesel par
t icu late filter could start a fire .
- Do not apply an underbody protectant in the exhaust system area or a fire could sta rt.
Avoid damaging the
vehicle
When you are driving on poor roads, o r over
curbs, steep ramps, etc., make ce rtain that
l ow -lying parts such as spoi lers and exhaust
system parts do not bottom out and get dam
aged.
This is especially true for vehicles with low
slung chassis (sports chassis)* and f ully load
ed vehicles.
Shutting down vehicle
I f you wou ld like your veh icle to remain inop
erative for a longer period of time, contact an
Audi or other specialized dealer. They can ad
vise you on necessary precautions e.g . corro
sion prevention, ma intenance and storage.
Pay attention to add itiona l information con
cerning the battery. Refer to
c::> page 242 .
Operate your vehicle
economically and
minimize pollution
General
Your personal style of driving will determine
the economy of your vehicle, as well as ex
haust and noise levels.
Fuel economy, environmental impact, and
wear on your engine, brakes and t ires largely
depend on th ree factors:
- you r persona l dr iving style
- operating conditions
- technica l lim itations
Dri vin g and en vironm ent 207
If you ant ic ipate what you need to do next and
drive economically, yo u can easily cut yo ur
fuel consumpt ion by 10 -15 percent. T his sec
tion w ill give you some tips on how you can
help the env ironment and your pocketbook.
Q) Tips
The consumption estimates as published
by ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
(EPA) and Transport Canada may not corre
spond to your actual consumption on the road, which will vary depending upon vehi
cle load and speed, road and weather con
dit ions, t rip leng th, etc.
Drive smoothly and keep a lookout
ahead
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac
celerating .
.,. Avo id u nnecessary accelerating and b rak ing.
Vehicles use the most fuel when they are ac
ce le rat ing . If you ant icipate what is going to
happen next, you will need to brake less and,
thu s, acce le rate less. Le t the vehicle coast
whenever possible -for examp le when you see
that the next t raff ic light is re d.
Avoid full throttle
Driving at moderate speeds saves fuel and
improves your mileage.
.,. Try and keep well below your car 's maximum
speed.
Acce le rat ing gently reduces fue l cons ump
tion, eng ine wear, and does not disturb the
environment.
Fuel consumpt ion, exhaust emiss ions and e n
gine noise inc rease disproport ionately at high
speeds . If you driv e at app rox imately th ree
quarte rs of top speed, fuel consumption w ill
be reduced by one ha lf. Never d rive fas ter
t han the pos ted speed limi t and weathe r con
ditions pe rmit.
•
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