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. .,.
•
•
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 safe ty belt bu ck
le. The bel t tongue w ill pop out of the buck
l e .
" Guide the safety be lt all the way back into
its stowed position .
A lways le t the safety belt retrac t complete ly
into its stowed posit ion . The sa fety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertib le locking ret ractor for chi ld
restra ints.
I f the convertible locking retracto r shou ld be
activated inadve rtently, the safety belt m ust
be unfastened and guided comp letely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the co nvertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and u ncomfo rtable to wea r.
A WARNING
Imprope rly insta lled child saf ety seats in
c rease the risk of ser ious perso nal inju ry
a n d death in a colli sion.
- Never unf asten the safety belt to deacti
va te the convert ible lo cking re tr actor for
c hild re st rain ts w hile the veh icle is mov
ing. You woul d not be rest rained and
cou ld be ser iously injure d in an accident.
- Always read and hee d all WARN INGS
whenever using a child rest rained in ave
hicle is being use d
¢page 178. Special
precautions apply when installing a ch ild
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 158, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Sa fet y 191
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To p rov ide a simple r and more practicable way
to attach the chil d restra in t on t he vehi cle
seat, Federal regulat ions req uire spec ia l lower
an cho rages in vehicles and devi ces on new
c h ild restraints to at tach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
T he combination o f the tether ancho rages and
th e lower ancho rages is now gener ally c alled
the
LATCH system fo r "L owe r Anchorages and
T ethers for Chil d ren."
Fo rw ard- facing ch ild restr ain ts manufa ctured
after September 1, 19 99, are requ ired by U .S .
f edera l reg ulations to comply wi th new child
head movement performance req uir ements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a chi ld restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the performance of the c hild restra int and its abil
ity to protect the child in a coll is ion. Insta lling
a chi ld restraint that requi res a top tether
without the top tether may be a violat io n of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats w ith
hook-on or push-on con nectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In add ition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these chi ld restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to he lp keep the chi ld
r est raint fi rmly in place .
A WARNING
Imp roper installat io n of ch ild restra ints
will i ncrease the r is k of inj ury a nd deat h in
a c rash.
-
•
•
192 Child Safety
-Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the child re
straint you intend to install in your vehi
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions require the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restraint LATCH
lower anchorage points can lead to injury
in a collision. The LATCH lower anchorage
points are designed to withstand only
those loads imposed by correctly fitted
child restraints.
- Never mount two child restraint systems
on one LATCH lower anchorage point.
- Never secure or attach any luggage or
other item to the LATCH lower anchorag
es .
(j) Tips
-In Canada, the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universal anchorages" (or "lower
universal anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
used to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 178 Schematic overview: LATCH a nch orage point
locations
The illustration shows the seating locations in
your vehicle which are equipped with the low
er anchorages system.
Description
The lower anchorage positions are marked
for quick locating.
Fig. 179 Lower anchorages, covers marked
Fig. 180 Rear seats: lower anc horage bracket locations
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion.
Remove the covers ¢
fig. 179 to access the
lower anchorage attachment points.
The lower anchorage attachment points are
visible <=>
fig. 180 .
Lower anchorages secure the chi ld restraint in
the seat without using the vehicle's safety
belts. Anchorages provide a secure and easy
to-use attachment and minimize the possibili
ty of improper child restraint installation .
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remember that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use with
LATCH lower anchorages. Child ..,_
restraints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal
led in compliance with the ch ild restra int
manufacturer's instructions on using vehicle
safety belts.
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serious personal injury in an ac
cident.
-Always carefully follow the ch ild re
straints manufacturer's inst ruct ions for
proper installation of the child restra int
and proper use of the lowe r anchorages
or safe ty belts in your vehicle.
- Never secure o r attach any luggage or
other items to the
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
formation about ch ild restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
~ page 178,
Child Safety.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig. 181 Lower ancho rages: proper mount ing
Mounting
~ Make sure the seatback of the rear seat
bench is in the upr ight position and securely
latched in place.
~ Attach bot h hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release o n the child safety seat
onto the LATC H lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place~
fig. 181.
Child S afety 193
~Pullon the connector attachments to make
sure they are properly attached to the LATCH
lower anchorage.
~ Pull straps tight follow ing the child restraint
manufacturer's instructions.
R ele a sing
~ Loosen the tension on the straps following
the child restraint manufacturer's instruc
tions.
~ Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from the lower anchorag
es .
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
ch ild restraint firmly in place.
A WARNING
Improper use of the LATCH system ca n in
crease the r isk of serious personal injury
and death in an accident.
- These anchors were developed only for
child safety seats using the "LATCH" sys
tem.
- Never attach other ch ild safety seats,
be lts or other objects to these anchors.
- Always make sure that you hear a click when latch ing the seat in place. If you do
not hear a click the seat is not secu re and
could fly forwa rd and hit the inter ior of
the vehicle, or be e jected from the vehi
cle.
A WARNING
Improper installat ion of child restraints
will i ncrease the risk of injury in an acci
dent .
- A lways follow the child restraint system
manufacturer's instructions for proper
installation of the ch ild restra int system
and proper use of tether straps as well as
the lower anchorages or safety belts in
your veh icle.
-Always read and heed the important in
formation and WARNINGS about child
safety and the instal lation of ch ild re
straint systems~
page 178, Child Safe
ty.
-
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.
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
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.
248 Tire s and whee ls
- Never mount used tires on yo ur vehicle if
you are not sure of their "previous histo
ry." Old used tires may have been dam
aged even though the damage cannot be
seen that can lead to sudden tire failure
and loss of vehicle control.
- If you notice unusual vibration or if the
vehicle pulls to one side when driving, al
ways stop as soon as it is safe to do so and check the wheels and tires for dam
age.
(D Note
Please note that summer and winter tires
are designed for the cond itions that are
Glossary of tire and loading terminology
Acces sory weight
means the comb ined we ight (in excess of
those standard items which may be rep laced)
of au toma tic tra nsmission, power steer ing,
power brakes, power windows, power seats,
radio, and heater, to the extent that these
items are availab le as factory -installed equip
ment (whether installed or not) .
Aspect ratio
means the ratio of the he ight to the w idth of
the tire in percent . Numbers of 55 or lower in
dicate a low sidewall for improved steering re
sponse and better overall handling on dry pavement .
Bead
means the part of the ti re that is made of
steel wires, wrapped or reinforced by ply cords
and that is shaped to fit the rim.
Bead s eparation
means a b reakdown of the bond between
components in the bead.
Cord
means the strands forming the plies in the
tire . typica
l in those seasons. Audi recommends
using winter tires during the winter
months. Low temperatures signif icant ly
decrease the e lasticity of summer tires,
which affects tract ion and brak ing ability.
If summer tires are used in very cold tem peratures, cracks ca n form on the tread
bars, resulting in permanent tire damage
that can cause loud driving no ise and un
balanced t ires. Audi is not responsible for
th is type of damage .
Cold tire inflation pre ssure
means the t ire p ressure recommended by the
vehicle manufacturer fo r a tire of a des ignated
s ize that has not bee n driven for more than a
coup le of miles (k ilometers) at low speeds in
the three hour period before the tire pressure
is measured or adjusted.
Curb weight
means the we ight of a motor ve hicle w ith
standard equipment including the max imum
capacity of fuel, oil, and coolant, air condi
tioning and additional weight of optiona l
equipment.
Extra load tire
means a t ire design to operate at higher loads
and at h igher inflation pressures than the cor
responding standard tire . Extra load tires may
be identified as "XL", "x l" , "EXTRA LOAD", or
"RF" on the sidewall.
Gross A xle Weight Rating ("GAWR ")
means the lo ad -carry ing capacity of a s ingle
axle system , measured at the tire-ground in
terfaces.
Gr oss Vehicle Weight Rating ("GVWR ")
means the maximum total loaded we ight of
t h e vehi cle. .,.