212 Child Safety
to the backrest on the vehicle seat. Ad
just or remove the rear seat head restraint if it is difficult to install the
child seat with the head restraint in place
<=> page 78 . 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.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used<=>
page 174, Safety
belts,
<=> page 183, Airbag system and
i=> page 204, Important things to know.
A WARNING
If exceptional circumstances require the
use of a forward-facing child restraint on
the front passenger's seat, the child's safe
ty and well-being require that the follow ing special precautions be taken:
- Make sure the forward-facing seat has
been designed and certified by its manu
facturer for use on a front seat with a passenger front and side airbag.
-A lways follow the manufacturer's in
structions provided with the child safety
seat or infant carrier.
- Always move the front passenger seat in
to the rearmost position of the passen
ger seat's fore and aft adjustment range, and as far away from the airbag as possi
ble before installing the child restraint.
- Always make sure that nothing prevents
the front passenger's seat from being
moved to the rearmost position in its
fore and aft adjustment range.
- Always make sure the backrest is in an
upright position.
- Make sure that the
PASSENGER AIR BAG
OFF
light comes on and stays on all the
time whenever the ignition is switched
on.
- If the light does not stay on, perform the
checks
<=> page 194, Monitoring the Ad
vanced Airbag System.
-
- Take the child restraint off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG OFF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
Booster seats and safety belts
Properly used booster seats can help protect
children weighing between about 40 lbs. and
80 lbs. (18 kg and 36 kg) who are less than 4
ft.
9 in . (57 inches/1 .45 meters) tall.
"' ....
"' 0 ±
o5
Fig. 219 Rear seat: c hild properly restrained in a boos
te r seat
The vehicle 's safety belts alone will not fit
most children until they are at least 4 ft. 9 in .
(57 inches/1.45 meters) tall and weigh about
80 lbs. (36 kg). Booster seats raise these chil
dren up so that the safety belt will pass prop
erly over the stronger parts of their bodies
and the safety belt can help protect them in a
crash.
.,. Do not use the convertible locking retractor
when using the vehicle's safety belt to re
strain a child on a booster seat.
.. The shoulder belt must lie as close to the
center of the child's collar bone as possible
and must lie flat and snug on the upper
body. It must never lie across the throat or
neck . The lap be lt must lie across the pelvis
and never across the stomach or abdomen .
Make sure the belt lies flat and snug. Pull on
the belt to tighten if necessary .
.,. If you must transport an older child in a
booster seat on the front passenger seat,
you can use the safety belt height adjust
ment to help adjust the shoulder portion
properly.
~ Secure unused safety belts on the rear seat
¢ page 209.
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 213
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 174.
- 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 78. 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. ~
•
•
214 Child Saf ety
- Childre n on the front seat of any car,
even with Advanced A irba gs, 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 exam ple the front seat.
- Never let a child ride in the cargo area of your vehicle .
- Always remember that a chi ld leaning
forward, sitt ing s ideways or out of posi
t ion in any way during an acc ident can be
struck by a deploying airbag . This will re
sult in serious personal injury or death .
- If you must install a booster seat on the
front passenger seat because of excep
t ional circumstances the
PASSENGER
AIR BAG OFF
light must come on and
stay on, whenever the ignition is sw itch
ed on.
- If the
PASSENGER AIR BAG OFF light
does not come on and stay on, perform
the checks described¢
page 194, Moni
toring the Advanced Airbag System.
- T ake the child restrain t off the front pas
senger seat and install it properly at one
of the rear seat positions if the
PASSEN
GER AIR BAG O FF
light does not stay on
whenever the ignition is switched on.
- Always read and heed all WARNINGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used
¢page 174, Safety
belts,
c:::;, page 183, Airbag system and
c:::;, page 204, Important things to know.
Installing a child safety
seat
Securing a child safety seat using a
safety belt
Safety belts for the rear seats and the front
passenger can be locked with the convertible locking retractor to properly secure child
safety seats .
The safety belts emergency locking retractors
for the rear seats safety belts and for the
front passenger's seat safety belt have a con
ve rtible locking retracto r fo r child restra ints . T
he safety belt m ust be locked so that be lt
webbing cannot unree l. The retractor can be
activated to lock the safety belt and prevent
the safety belt webbing from loosening up
during norma l dr iving. A child safety seat can
o n ly be properly insta lled when the safety belt
i s loc ked so that the child 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 those 12 years and young
er, shou ld always r ide in the back seat prope r
l y restra ined fo r the ir age and size.
_& WARNING
Imp ro perly ins talled ch ild safety sea ts in
crease the risk of serious pe rsonal injury
and death in a co llision.
- Always make s ure that the safe ty belt re
trac to r i s loc ked when insta lling a child
safety seat . An un locked safety belt re
tracto r cannot hold the child safety seat
in place dur ing norma l driving or 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 sudden stop or in a collision.
- Always make sure that the rear seat
backrest to wh ich the center rear safety
be lt is attached is securely latched when
eve r the rea r center safety belt is being
used to secure a c hild restra int.
- If the backrest is not securely la tched,
the child and the child restraint will be
thrown forward togethe r with t he back
rest and will strike part s of the vehicle
interior. The child can be seriously in
jured or killed.
- Never inst all rear-facing child s afety
seats or in fant ca rrie rs on the front pas
senger seat . A child will be serious ly in
jured and can be killed when the passen ger airbag in flates.
- The inflating air bag will h it the ch ild
safety seat or infant carrier with great
force and will smash the child safety seat ..,.
216 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 204. Special
precautions apply when installing a child
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 185, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know .
Deactivating the convertible locking
retractor
The convertible locking retractor for child re
straints will be deactivated automatically when the belt is wound all the way back into the retractor.
" Press the red button on the safe ty belt buck
le. The belt tongue w ill pop out of the buck
le.
" Guide the safety be lt all the way back into
its stowed position .
A lways let the safety belt retrac t complete ly
into its stowed position . The sa fety belt can
now be used as an ordinary safety belt with
out the convertib le locking retractor for child
restra ints.
If the convertible locking retractor shou ld be
activated inadvertently, the safety belt must
be unfastened and guided comp letely back in
to its stowed position to deactivate th is fea
ture. If the convertib le locking retractor is not
deactivated, the safety belt will gradually be
come tighter and uncomfortable to wear.
A WARNING
Improperly insta lled child safety seats in
crease the risk of ser ious personal inju ry
and death in a collision.
- Never unfasten the safety belt to deacti
vate the convertible locki ng ret ractor for
child restraints while the veh icle is mov
ing. You would not be rest rained and
cou ld be seriously injured in an accident.
- Always read and heed all WARN INGS
whenever using a child restrained in ave
hicle is being used¢
page 204. Special
precautions apply when installing a chi ld
safety seat on the front passenger seat
¢ page 185, Child restraints on the front
seat -some important things to know.
Child Sa fet y 21 7
LATCH Lower
anchorages and tethers
for children
Child Restraint System anchors and how
are they related to child safety
To prov ide a simpler and more practicable way
to attach the child restra int on the vehicle
seat, Federal regulat ions requ ire spec ial lower
anchorages in vehicles and devices on new
child restraints to attach to the vehicle ancho
rages.
T he combination of the tether anchorages and
the lower anchorages is now generally ca lled
the
LATCH system for " Lower Anchorages and
T ethers for Chil dren."
Forward-facing chi ld restraints manufactured
after September 1, 1999, are required by U.S .
federal regulations to comply with new child
head movement performance requirements .
These new performance requirements make a
tether necessary on most new child seats.
Installing a child restraint that requires a top
tether without one can seriously impair the performance of the chi ld restra int and its abil
ity to protect the child in a collision. Insta lling
a child restraint that requires a top tether
without the top tether may be a violation of
state law.
Child restraint manufacturers offer LATCH
lower anchorages on their child seats with
hook-on or push-on connectors attached to
adjustable straps.
In addition to the LATCH lower anchorages,
these child restraint systems usually require
the use of tether straps to help keep the child
restraint firmly in place .
A WARNING
Improper installation of child restraints
will increase the r isk of inj ury and death in
a crash.
-
•
•
218 Child Safety
-Always follow the instructions provided
by the manufacturer of the ch ild re
straint you intend to install in your veh i
cle.
- Never install a child restraint without a
properly attached top tether strap if the
child restraint manufacturer's instruc
t ions requ ire the top tether strap to be
used.
- Improper use of child restra int 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 lu gg age or
other item to the LATCH lo wer anchorag
es .
(j) Tips
-In Canada , the terms "top tether" with
"lowe r universal anchorages " (or " lower
un iversa l anchorage bars") are used to
describe the system.
- In other countries, the term "ISOFIX" is
u sed to describe the lower anchorages.
Location
Fig. 220 Schematic overview: LATCH an ch 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. 221 Second row of seats : lower ancho rage bracket
loc ations
Fig. 222 Thir d row of seats: locator butto ns for lower
anchorages
Attachment locator markers for lower
anchorages
T he lower anchorage locations in the second
row of seats are indicated by the attachment
locator markers of the lower anchorage brack
ets¢
fig. 221. Remove the covers to access
the lower anchorage brackets. Circular locator
buttons on the third row of seats* indicate the
lower anchorage locations on the third row of
seats
¢fig. 222.
Lower anchorages
The lower anchorage attachment po ints are
located between the rear seatback and rear
seat cushion
9 fig. 221 or¢ fig. 222.
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 possib ili-
ty of improper child restra int installation.
II>
All child restraints manufactured after Sep
tember 1, 2002, must have lower anchorage
attachments for the
LATCH system.
Remembe r that the lower anchorage points
are only intended for installation and attach
ment of child restraints specifically certified
for use w ith
LATCH l ower anchorages. Child
restraints that are not equipped with the low
er anchorage attachments can still be instal
led in compliance with the child restra int
manufacturer's inst ruct ions on us ing vehicle
safety belts .
A WARNING
Improper use of LATCH lower anchorages
can cause serio us personal injury i n an ac
cident.
- Alway s ca refully fo llow the child re
straints manufac turer's instru ct ions for
proper installation of the child restra int
and proper use of the lowe r anchorages
or safety belts in your vehicle .
- Never secure or attach any l uggage or
other items to t he
LATCH lower ancho
rages.
- Always read and heed the important in
format ion about child restra ints in this
chapter and WARNINGS
¢ page 204,
Child Safety.
Guidance fixtures for lower anchorages
App lies to vehicles: with third row seating
Special guidance fixtures increase the conven
ience of the lower anchorages and ore availa
ble from your authorized Audi dealer.
Fig. 223 Th ird row of seats: installi ng the gu idance fix
tures
Child S afety 219
'
0
Fig. 224 Close-up: fitt ing the guidance fixture over the
l ower anchorage bracket
The lower anchorage attachment points are
located on the third row of seats between the
seatback and the seat cushion. Special guid
ance fixtures increase the convenience of the
lower anchorages and help protect the seat
mater ial from possible damage when instal
ling ch ild restraints .
Installing the guidance fi xtur es
... Push down on the seat cu shion so that the
lower anchorages are visible.
.,. Hold the guidance fixture with the part
number facing downward and push it in the
direction of the arrow onto the anchorage
¢fig. 224.
.,. Make sure that each of the two guidance fix
t ures per seat snaps into place.
Removing the gu idance fixtures
... Remove the child restraint according the
child restraint manufacturer's instructions .
.,. Push down on the seat cushion so that the
lower an cho rages are visible.
.,. Pull off t he gui dance fixtures from the lower
anchorages.
... Always remove the guidance fixtures and
keep them in a safe place when not in use .
You may find it easier to install child re
straints equipped with hooks attached to
straps without the guidance fixtures in place.
If this is the case, remove the guidance fix
tures by pulling them off the anchorages.
However, the guidance fixtures can help you
to locate the
LATCH anchorages. .,..
220 Child Safe ty
& WARNING
Improper use of tether anchorages or low
er anchorages can cause serious personal
injury in a crash.
- Always carefully follow the ch ild re
straint manufacturer's instructions for proper installation and use of child re
st raint systems .
- Never use the
LATCH or tethe r anchorag
es to attach safety belts or other kinds of
occupant restraints.
- Child restraint tether attachments and
lower attachments are only des igned to
se cu re a child res traint that has been
equipped to use these anchorages.
- T ether anchorages and lower an chorages
are designed to withstand only those loads imposed by correct ly fitted ch ild
res traints . Under no circumstances can
they be used safe ly for adu lt or chi ld
safety belts or harnesses.
- Never mount more than one chi ld re
st raint to a sing le tether or to a lower an
chorage point. Attac hing two chi ld re
straints to a sing le anchorage poi nt can
cause the anchorage to fail and cause se
rious personal injury in a crash.
(D Note
- Remove the guidance f ixtures before
fo ld ing the rear seatback to prevent
damaging the seat cushion.
- If you leave the guidance fixtures instal
l ed for several days, they could leave a
mark on the upho lstery on the seat cush
i o n and backrest in the area that the
guidance fixtures were insta lled. The up
ho lstery would also be permanently
stretched around the guid ance fixt ures.
This applies especially to leather seats.
Installing a child restraint with LATCH
lower anchorages
Whenever you install a child restraint always
follow the child restraint manufacturer's in
structions.
F ig . 225 Lower a ncho rages: proper mount ing
Mo unting
.,. Make s ure the seatback of the rear seat
benc h is in the upright position and securely
latched in place.
.,. Attach both hook-on connectors with the
spring catch release on the child safety seat
onto the LATCH lower anchorage so that the
connectors lock into place ~
fig. 225 .
.,. Pull on the connector attachments to ma ke
sure they are properly attac hed to the LATC H
lower ancho rage .
.,. Pull straps tight fo llow ing the child res traint
manufacturer's instruct ions.
Releasing
.,. Loose n the tension on the straps fo llowing
t he child restra int manufac turer's inst ruc
tions .
.. Depress the spring catches to release the
anchorage hooks from t he lower anchorag
es.
Remember: Use tether straps to help keep the
c h ild restraint firmly in place .
A WARNING
'-
Improper use of the LATCH system can in-
crease the risk of serious personal in jury
and death in an accident.